Sam Allardyce says Tottenham’s Eric Dier is just as good as Barcelona star

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Tottenham man Dier starred for England as the Three Lions beat Spain on Monday night.

Sam Allardyce has told TalkSPORT that he believes Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier is just as good as Barcelona anchorman Sergio Busquets, after England’s 3-2 win over Spain on Monday night.

Dier, 24, started alongside Spurs teammate Harry Winks and Chelsea playmaker Ross Barkley in midfield as Gareth Southgate’s men triumphed at Real Betis’ Stadium over Luis Enrique’s men.

Raheem Sterling notched an excellent brace while Marcus Rashford also found the back of the net, before England survived a Spain onslaught in the second half despite goals from Paco Alcacer and Sergio Ramos.

Dier, who has gained huge plaudits on social media for his performance – not least because of his tackle on Ramos – was the subject of huge praise from former England boss Allardyce, who reckons he is on a par with Busquets.

“Busquets was out of sorts last night, and the praise for him has to be stopped because he’s no better or worse than Eric Dier for me,” Allardyce said. “Busquets breaks play up and passes it, he’s very intelligent.

“He’s not much more than that but gets a huge amount of praise for it – Dier does the same, but gets a lot of criticism for it. We laud Busquets as a genius, but when it’s are own, we criticise him. Dier was far better than Busquets last night.”

Busquets is renowned for being one of the most intelligent footballers in the world for his inch-perfect, clever passing at Barcelona. He is arguably the best holding midfielder in the world.

Dier has already clocked up 36 appearances for England and captained Southgate’s men five times in his short career. His performance against the Spanish was absolutely crucial to earning all three points.

England now sit second in League A, Group 4 with Spain on six points. England must beat Croatia on November 18 to stand any chance of winning the group, and hope Croatia beat Spain. England also play USA on November 15.