Bayern Munich have confirmed that Eric Dier's contract has been extended until 2025 on account of the defender making a certain number of appearances for the club.
After falling down the pecking order at Tottenham Hotspur under Ange Postecoglou, Dier joined the Bundesliga champions on an initial six-month loan deal during the January transfer window.
With the England international out of contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June, he would have ended the season as a free agent had Bayern not kept him on the books.
However, Bayern agreed to a clause which would see Dier remain at the Allianz Arena for the 2024-25 campaign if he played a certain number of matches, and the 30-year-old has now made enough appearances to trigger that option.
Dier has already featured in seven Bundesliga matches for Thomas Tuchel's side - starting five of them and helping the reigning champions keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Union Berlin on his debut.
"I'm happy in Munich. Now my future is sorted, and I can focus on playing well for the club and trying to help the club to win games, win competitions, even though it's been a difficult period for us," Dier told the official Bayern website.
Confirmation of Dier's Bayern extension means that the Englishman will officially depart Tottenham having made 364 appearances for the North London giants over a nine-and-a-half-year spell, registering 13 goals and 12 assists.
ℹ️ Eric Dier's contract has been extended by a season until 2025.
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 2, 2024
All information here ➡️ https://t.co/hqktRlI4gI#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/xCTz3x4Tve
The former Sporting Lisbon youngster started out as a central midfielder before transitioning into defence for the Lilywhites, with whom he played in the finals of the Champions League and EFL Cup.
Dier was a regular in Antonio Conte's three-man defensive system, but Postecoglou quickly settled on Cristian Romero and summer signing Micky van de Ven as his first-choice central pairing at Tottenham.
Even when Romero and Van de Ven were absent through suspension and injury earlier this season, full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies were often preferred to Dier at centre-back, and the Lilywhites also captured Radu Dragusin from Genoa over the winter.
Having beaten Bayern and Napoli to a deal for Dragusin, Tottenham sanctioned Dier's exit to the Allianz Arena and recouped a loan fee of £3.4m as opposed to losing him for nothing at the end of the season.
"Eric Dier's contract has been extended by a further year after making a certain number of appearances. He's a valuable support in our defence with all his character," Bayern board member Max Eberl added.
Dier - whose switch to Bayern also saw him reunite with ex-Lilywhites teammate Harry Kane - played the full 90 as Tuchel's side were held to a 2-2 draw by Freiburg on Friday night, leaving them seven points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen having played a game more.
Meanwhile, Tottenham sit fifth in the Premier League table and return from a two-week competitive break at home to London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Ben Knapton
