According to reports in The Guardian, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier is keen on a move to Manchester United this summer with the Red Devils considering launching a £50m bid for the 23-year-old star, as well as more than doubling his current £70,000-a-week wages.

The former Sporting Lisbon man has become a key player for Spurs over the course of the last three seasons, and he was starring in a defensive midfield role before the arrival of Victor Wanyama from Southampton last summer.

The Kenyan quickly established himself in that role and it saw the England international often drop back into a three-man defence during his 48 appearances in all competitions for the north London outfit last term.

However, he would prefer to play in a midfield role according to The Guardian – something that Jose Mourinho would be willing to offer him if he moved to Old Trafford.

While The Guardian says that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy informed United that the player wasn’t for sale earlier in the summer, if the player wants to go then they could change their mind and may already be scouting the transfer market for potential signings that could fill the void.

Here are three Dier replacements Tottenham could sign this summer…

Marcos Llorente

The defensive midfielder may have been wondering if he had a future with Real Madrid last summer, but after a successful season-long loan spell with La Liga side Alaves and having been a regular in the Spain side that were beaten in the European Under-21 Championships final by Germany earlier this month, it will be interesting to see what happens now.

The 22-year-old has just a year remaining on his contract with the Champions League holders and as he seems unlikely to dislodge Casemiro next season, he could consider making a loan or permanent move away from the club this summer in order to get regular playing time.

Llorente is comfortable in possession, loves a tackle, has a good reading of the game and is able to take on an opponent, and he certainly looks as though he would be a good fit in the Spurs midfield.

Amadou Diawara

Napoli only signed the 19-year-old defensive midfielder from Bologna last summer and while they perhaps wouldn’t have expected him to be a starter right away, the teenager certainly made a big impression in his first season for the Serie A giants.

The Guinean youngster made 28 appearances in all competitions in the defensive midfield position and he showed his ability on the ball by having a passing accuracy of 90% from his 18 league outings.

Diawara also showed that he isn’t afraid to travel with the ball after successfully completing all seven of the take-ons he attempted, while he also made 27 interceptions to show the potential he has to be a big hit in the Tottenham midfield.

Leander Dendoncker

If Tottenham do sell Dier to Manchester United this summer they will get a large fee for his services, and they may need to use a fair chunk of it if they want to replace him with Anderlecht midfielder Dendoncker.

The 22-year-old has been a regular fixture in the Belgian outfit’s team over the course of the last three seasons but he was especially impressive last term.

Alongside Youri Tielemans, who has already left to join Monaco this summer, the Belgium international scored six goals in 57 appearances in all competitions, while he also showed similar versatility to Dier by the fact that six of those outings came at centre-back rather than in a defensive midfield role.

Anderlecht won’t be keen to lose their highly-rated midfielder having already seen Tielemans leave though, and it would take a significant offer to convince them to sell.

Do you agree, Spurs fans? Let us know below.