After initial loan from Tottenham - Eric Dier to stay at Bayern Munich

Eric Dier will stay at Bayern Munich beyond the 2023/24 season. The 30-year-old center-back was signed from Tottenham for on a performance based deal worth around €3.5m on loan this winter until the end of the 2023/24 season. That loan deal included an option to make the deal permanent if certain performance metrics were met by the player. 

Bayern confirmed the contract extension on Saturday. "I am very happy in Munich. Now my future is settled and I can focus solely on my performances and how I can help the club," Dier said in a club statement. "We want to win games and titles again, even if it’s a difficult phase for us at the moment." After arriving on January 11, Dier quickly established himself in Thomas Tuchel’s squad, featuring in six out of seven Bundesliga games in which he was available. Dier has started four of those games, and when he began played the full 90 minutes. 

An argument could be made that Dier has recently become one of Bayern’s most reliable defenders. The 30-year-old Englishman started and played the full 90 minutes against Leipzig (2-1) on the weekend as Bayern finally ended a three-game losing streak in the Bundesliga. The last-minute goal scored by fellow Englishman Harry Kane, in fact, ensured that Leverkusen’s gap at the top of the table remained at eight points. 

Eric Dier – From Tottenham bench to Bayern’s most reliable defender? 

With Bayern Munich facing Freiburg on Friday in what will be another must-win game, the question has very much become on who will feature next to Dier to start the match. Matthijs de Ligt will be suspended due to a yellow card accumulation, and it is expected that either Min-Jae Kim or Dayot Upamecano will rotate into the squad. 

Upamecano’s recent struggles in the Bundesliga and the Champions League have helped cement Dier’s place in the starting XI. Upamecano was sent off in Bayern’s 1-0 defeat to Lazio in the first leg of the round of 16 and then in the subsequent Bundesliga game against VfL Bochum (2-3). With that in mind, Dier will likely also start against Lazio in the return match next week. 

Indeed, for Dier, the loan move to Bayern has very much become a best-case scenario. Despite featuring in just four Premier League games, Dier has become Bayern’s most reliable defender in recent games, opening the door to remain in Munich. Bayern recently appointed Max Eberl as the new board member of sport and will sign a new head coach this summer. That means every player, including Dier, will play for their future as Bayern will undergo a significant rebuild next summer.