Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has rubbished reports that Eric Dier is unhappy at the club.
Stories in the English press had emerged earlier this week suggesting that Dier wasn't completely happy with his new-found role at the club this season, and was considering requesting a move away.
Having excelled alongside Moussa Dembele in Spurs' title-challenging side last year, Dier only went up in value as he became one of few England stars to come out of Euro 2016 with some credibility, especially after scoring the Three Lions' opening goal against Russia.
However, Dier hasn't kicked on as expected this year. Questions were raised over his position within the squad after the signing of Victor Wanyama, and they were confirmed with Dembele-Wanyama seemingly being Pochettino's first choice centre-midfield pairing.
"I have never heard from him that he wasn't happy," said Pochettino, who is hoping to resist interest from the likes of Bayern Munich in Dier.
Englishman has played most of his football at the back this season
The 22-year-old has earned most of his minutes alongside Jan Vertonghen at the back, in the absence of Toby Alderweireld who has been suffering from a knee injury.
However, with Alderweireld now back, Pochettino has a struggle to find a place for Dier within the XI, unless he continues deploying a three man defence. Even then, Dier isn't in his preferred position.
Still, the Argentine manager was full of praise for his young player, commenting that his quality allows him to play a variety of positions, something that's "so important for every coach."
Pochettino also added that Dier has seen quite a lot of game time under his watchful eye already. "Eric Dier, for me, he's 22-years-old, he's a player that arrived as a 19-year-old here and after two years and a half, he has played more than 40 games every season," he said, adding that "we'll see in the future which position he can give his best football [in]."