Jose Mourinho is keen on signing Tottenham's Eric Dier this summer to start his new project at Roma, as reported by Corriere dello Sport.

What's the latest news on Eric Dier?

Mourinho and Dier worked together at Tottenham between 2019 and 2021 until the former was sacked last month.

Earlier this week, Mourinho was appointed Roma's new manager, and will start his role ahead of next season. He has wasted little time in identifying some early transfer targets, and he is reportedly interested in reuniting with Dier in the Italian capital.

How much would Eric Dier cost?

A price-tag for Dier is not mentioned in the report, but based on his Transfermarkt valuation, Dier will not be cheap. They feel the 27-year-old is worth £22.5m. 

Mourinho is set to receive £7.8m in wages from Spurs next season as Daniel Levy needs to pay off the Portuguese coach after bringing his time at Tottenham to a premature end.

But it seems safe to assume based on Transfermarkt's valuation (and the general market law of English players being more expensive than they need to be) that Mourinho's pay-off money would be going straight back into Tottenham's pockets were he to sign Dier this summer.

Has Mourinho signed his former players before?

Yes he has.

This is nothing new for Mourinho. There are numerous examples of him working with players at multiple clubs. Back in 2012, he brought trusted midfielder Michael Essien to Real Madrid, having previously coached him at Chelsea.

This trend has continued in the years that have followed. When he returned to Chelsea in 2014, he took Samuel Eto'o with him - the pair were a successful combination when Inter Milan won the treble in 2010. Then there was Nemanja Matic, who Mourinho signed when he moved to Manchester United after getting the best out of him at Chelsea in his second spell at Stamford Bridge.

Would Spurs miss Dier?

Not at all.

Having been at the club since 2014, the England international has been tried as a right-back, defensive midfielder and central defender. He has not been convincing in any of these positions.

In fairness, he did have a decent spell alongside Mousa Dembele at the heart of Spurs' midfield under Mauricio Pochettino, but when the graceful Belgian departed in January 2019, Dier's shortcomings were there for all to see.

Indeed, Mourinho himself spotted them, and opted to move Dier back into defence when he took over at Tottenham. That move did not work very well at all, though.

Dier has played 25 league games this season, but has also been dropped from the side more than once, and has been unable to steady the ship at the back, with the side conceding 38 goals this term.

It's time for Tottenham to move on from Dier, and it seems that Mourinho is willing to give them the perfect excuse to offload him this summer.