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Eric Dier

LONDON — Manchester United are ready to kick off their summer spending with a move for Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier.

Dier — valued at over £40 million — has been earmarked as a potential replacement for Michael Carrick.

Jose Mourinho is a keen admirer of a number of Spurs players but is wary of how difficult it would be to take an asset from a club now seen as a direct rival.

United’s top brass are also well aware of the perils of going into business with notoriously tough negotiator Daniel Levy and the Tottenham supremo may well demand a price that the Manchester club are unwilling to pay.

Sportsmail understands United have a list of four players for each position they wish to strengthen lined up and will not be held to ransom.

The Red Devils have been linked with numerous player as the summer transfer window appears on the horizon.

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann and Barcelona star Neymar are names reportedly on Mourinho’s radar, but it would appear as though he’s focused on addressing his midfield issues first.

Carrick’s current deal ends this summer and as yet he hasn’t been offered an extension.

Jose Mourinho is a fan of Dier, who spent time in Portugal before he joined Tottenham.

The 35-year-old said earlier this month: “I haven’t really had that much of a conversation with him (Mourinho) at the moment. Obviously that will happen, it’s going to happen at some stage, pretty soon I’d have thought. That’s something I’m really relaxed about. I’m sure he is as well.

“(Retirement) almost depends on how long I’m here. I don’t think there’s many places I’d want to play, if any, after this anyway.

“I probably would say yes — that would be it if I left in the summer.”

While he arrived at Tottenham as a defender, Dier has been converted into a midfielder by manager Mauricio Pochettino.

He played a key role in helping Spurs finish third in the Premier League last season, featuring in all but one of his team’s league games.

However, he is no longer guaranteed a starting spot in midfield following the arrival of Victor Wanyama from Southampton and has been moved back into defence as Pochettino switched to a 3-5-2.

Any move United attempt to make will mean negotiating with Levy once more — something they have found difficult in the past.

Former boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, revealed in his book in 2015 that he found dealing with the Spurs chairman while trying to sign striker Dimitar Berbatov in 2008 as “more painful than my hip replacement”. — Mailonline