Tottenham centre-half Eric Dier says he has never played as consistently well as this season, despite being overlooked for the England squad last week.
Dier was not named in Gareth Southgate’s initial 25-man squad for the friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast, with the England boss keeping faith with out-of-form Harry Maguire and handing a maiden call-up to Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.
Southgate was, however, mulling over a number of potential changes on Monday morning, raising the possibility that Dier could still play a part in the friendlies.
Antonio Conte, the Spurs manager, has said the 28-year-old could become one of the best players in the world in his position – at the heart of the back three – and has tipped him to return to the England set up for the Qatar World Cup, if he maintains his current form. Conte has also said that Dier, who began his England career as a midfielder, can still improve.
Dier was a key part of Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs side which pushed for the title in 2015-16 and the following season, largely as a midfielder, but he says he has never been as consistently good as this season.
“I feel for me this is consistently my best season I have had so far at Tottenham, not just as a defender but overall,” Dier told Standard Sport after Sunday’s 3-1 win over West Ham.
“I don’t think I’ve ever shown the consistency in the performances that I have shown this season and I feel like my football is the best it has been in my opinion.
“It is always very nice when a manager, especially one like him, says those things, it gives me a lot of confidence, but the thing I pay most attention to from his words are that I have a lot of space for improvement and I think that is really the thing he says that I focus on the most.
“I want to fill that space, fill that potential, as much as possible, as much as he thinks possible.”
