Gary Neville has admitted on Sky Sports that he always questioned whether Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier was good enough to start in central midfield, after coaching him in the England set-up.
Neville worked as a coach under Roy Hodgson for England, when Tottenham man Dier was often deployed as a defensive midfielder.
However, since Jose Mourinho came in at Spurs, he has shifted Dier to centre-back.
The England international has generally looked more assured in defence.
And Neville suggests that he always felt that Dier would make a better central defender than midfielder.
“I worked with Eric Dier with England,” Neville explained. “Great character, good personality. But I always felt that in the modern game, could he play in that midfield role? Was he going to get the ball on the half-turn and combine?
“I always thought that with his physical attributes he probably is more suited to being a centre-back.”
Dier helped Tottenham keep a clean sheet against Everton last night and he impressed in doing so.
Dier formed a strong partnership with Toby Alderweireld, as they largely shut down any threat posed by Everton.
Mourinho really seems to be testing Dier out in the centre-back position, with the Spurs man receiving his most consistent run of starts now for a long time.
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