Tottenham's Eric Dier breaks silence over Manchester United rumours

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier insists he is not fazed by transfer rumours and is determined to let his football do the talking instead.

The England international was linked with a move to Manchester United throughout the summer, after Jose Mourinho identified Dier as the man needed to strengthen his side's engine room. However, United reportedly had a £50m (€54.4m, $64.7m) bid for the midfielder refused by Spurs, who told their Premier League rivals in no uncertain terms the 23-year-old was not for sale and went on to sign Nemanja Matic instead.

Following his £40m move from Chelsea, the Serbian has slotted in seamlessly in United's starting line-up and has already been earmarked as one of the potential signings of the season. Dier, however, appeared to have been open to a move to the north west.

In an Instagram video posted by Spurs' midfielder Dele Alli, Dier jokingly labelled Kyle Walker, who swapped Spurs for Manchester City in a £50m move earlier this summer, a "traitor". The England right-back, however, snapped back and said: "It was alright when you wanted to go to United."

Alli has since deleted the video and Walker explained the response was made in jest, while Dier poured more cold water on the rumour.

"I think it's best if footballers worry about playing football," he told reporters ahead of England's World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Monday (4 September). "I take the philosophy that if I worry about the football everything else will take care of itself."

Meanwhile Dier, who did not feature in England's 4-0 win against Malta on Friday, moved to defend his colleagues, claiming footballers are not to blame for transfer fees and wages spiralling out of control.

A record £1.4bn was spent by Premier League clubs this summer, while PSG made Neymar the most expensive footballer of all times by paying Barcelona £198m for the Brazilian. The Spanish giants wasted no time in replacing the Brazilian, splashing £97m on the former Borussia Dortmund forward.

Yet Dier said the exorbitant transfer fees and eye-watering wages were also causing an issue for players.

"It's a very difficult situation," he added. "People don't realise how difficult it is for us to handle. It isn't easy. I read something that Jamie Carragher wrote last year, talking about psychologists. He said we are extremely gifted footballers, not humans, or something along those lines.

"And I think people need to remember that sometimes. We're normal human beings with a gift so it's very difficult to handle all of those situations that happen in football with money and fame."