Spurs star in a ‘compromising position’ says Pochettino

Tottenham & Manchester United

Pochettino’s latest update deals with how he had to handle Man United’s approach for one of his England internationals in the summer.
The player at the centre of the story is Eric Dier. The Spurs utility star was linked with a switch to Old Trafford during the transfer window.

Eric Dier & Jose Mourinho

Dier, of course, is fluent in Portuguese.
That’s after he grew up in Portugal playing for Sporting CP.
According to Pochettino, his alarm bells went off last season when Mourinho started talking to Dier in Portuguese after a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford:
Mourinho and I had finished our interviews at Old Trafford [after the 1-0 defeat by Manchester United, December 2016] and the players were doing their warm-down on the pitch. When Jose was done with the press, he stood by the entrance to the tunnel and regarded the returning players.

He greeted Moussa Sissoko and hugged Dier. They passed by me en route to the dressing rooms, laughing, speaking in Portuguese. Maybe it is a common Mourinho tactic, but he put Eric in a compromising position. You cannot do that after a defeat.

‘Are you friends with Mourinho?’ I asked him. ‘No, but I’ve known him a long time, from my time in Portugal… one of his godsons coached me. He always says hello.’ 

Dier’s best position for Spurs

Later in the article, Pochettino confirmed he’s clashed with Dier about his best position in the Spurs team:

Eric thinks he’s further ahead as a midfielder than as a defender. We had a long chat about that because I disagree. 
Interestingly, Dier played at centre-half last week in the Champions League as Tottenham drew 1-1 away at Real Madrid.