Eric Dier Claims Players Aren't to Blame for Big Transfer Fees & Defends 'Mistakes' of 'Young Boys'

Tottenham's Eric Dier has insisted that players are unfairly blamed for the increasingly extortionate transfer fees and wages in football.

This summer's transfer window saw numerous ongoing sagas, including Spurs left-back Danny Rose, in which players appeared to be looking to instigate moves elsewhere.

But Dier has stressed that the pressure and attention that comes with the inflation in the transfer market is not easy to deal with, and that many of the game's top players are still "young boys".

Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

"It isn't easy, people don't realise how difficult it is for us to handle as a situation," the 23-year-old said, quoted by ESPN.

"At the end of the day we're all the same, we're normal human beings with a gift we've been given, so it's very difficult to handle all of those situations that happen in football with money and fame etc.

"It's not Ousmane Dembele's fault that he's good at football and someone [at Barcelona] is willing to pay £140 million for him. It's more to do with people way up the food chain.

ADRIAN DENNIS/GettyImages

"Everyone knows we are role models and we need to try to carry ourselves in the right way, because thousands or millions of kids are looking up to you in a sense. I think footballers in general as role models are really fantastic and I will say that for all the boys here (with England), I think everyone carries themselves really well."

He added: "Obviously if you were to follow any 21-year-old or 22-year-old boy around for six months, I'm sure you'd see a lot of bad stuff.

"I think everyone has to realise that at the end of the day we are just young boys. In football at 25 you are seen as being in the middle or your career, but from a life point of view you are still a young boy, so boys are going to make mistakes."