Eric Dier is one player who has seen a major improvement under Antonio Conte. The defender is now one of the first names on the teamsheet, in the middle of the back three for Tottenham.
The 28-year-old has made 34 Premier League appearances so far this season, starting in all of his features. Dier has made 138 clearances, produced 123 accurate long balls and made 122 recoveries, indicating his impact.
The English international's multi-lingual qualities help break the language barrier with his fellow teammates and his improvement during matches has become consistent, something Spurs have needed. Now the Lilywhites sit just one point away from securing Champions League football next season, which the whole squad will be hoping to achieve.
READ MORE: Antonio Conte names the Tottenham star that can become 'one of the best players in the world'
Dier is one Spurs players who has been at the club for a number of years, making his move from Sporting Lisbon in 2014. The 28-year-old actually started his career in north London as more of a defensive midfielder, but over the years has moulded into the defender he is today.
Dier has been subject to a lot of criticism over the years and last September, Frank McAvennie made a big claim about the defender. "Eric Dier has never been a centre half. When you watch him you can see that he just hasn’t got it," he said.
A few months before those comments, the 28-year-old spoke about some of the criticism he has received and that he believes that it can sometimes be "unfair". "I believe I can still perform to a much higher level. I’m happy to be playing, obviously, and I’ve just got to keep working hard and improving," the defender admitted.
"Sometimes I’ve made a mistake or something has led to a goal and one mistake is talked about like it’s four or five. I’ve felt that at times.
"As defenders, you’re always going to make mistakes at times and the most important thing is how you react to them. Just the narrative I see that is painted of me, at times," Dier admitted.
"It doesn’t really bother me too much. I just think it’s a bit unfair at times. It’s football."
The defender did have to deal with being in and out the squad under Jose Mourinho and although Mauricio Pochettino played him in this defensive midfield role, the Argentine had a lot of faith in the 28-year-old's defensive qualities. "I've told Eric he has what it takes to be the best English centre back but he has to be convinced of that himself," Pochettino admitted in his book, Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs.
"We've put the conditions in place for him to improve." This prediction is very similar to the words of Conte, at the end of last year, although the Spurs boss went one step further
"Eric Dier can become one of the best players in the world in that position," the Italian admitted. The current Tottenham boss did go on to comment on the fact there is still room for improvement for the 28-year-old.
"He has to lead more, because in that position, you have to speak a lot because you have to stay in the middle, at the back where you can see everything. He has a great space for improvement but we are talking about a really good player, strong physically with a good personality and good technically because he was a midfielder," Conte said.
"This role is perfect for him. He has to continue this way because he can become one of the best central defenders."
Even from those comments until now, Dier has arguably improved even more, becoming that vocal leader the Italian wants him to be. Although the 28-year-old may not be the 'best central defender' yet, he could be well on his way, if he continues to improve and this praise has been echoed by Ledley King.
"I think after having one season of learning the position, so to speak, I think he's been fantastic this season. What I like about him are his great leadership qualities," the former Spurs defender admitted, in an exclusive interview with football.london, on behalf of Bookmakers.com.
In an interview with Tottenham last October, Dier was asked about missing out on Gareth Southgate's England squad and he explained, "I’m not happy, put it that way." However with his recent form, many have been claiming that the 28-year-old deserves to be back in the national side.
The defender could get this opportunity, with the World Cup coming up at the end of the year and the former Spurs skipper believes he will be giving Southgate something to think about. "I think if you look around the Premier League at the moment there's not too many players that spring to mind and really stand out in terms of English centre-backs," King admitted.
"I think Eric's been as good as any, in terms of his consistency this season. In terms of his communication and trying to help others, that's something that really stood out.
"I'm sure he's the vocal leader in the back of that Spurs defence and I think he'd be really unlucky to miss out on the next [England] squad. In my eyes he's done enough, for sure," the 41-year-old added.
This consistency that Dier has kept up for much of the season is something a number of the Tottenham squad have struggled with. This, along with his strong defensive qualities, have made him a key part of Conte's side.
Pochettino and the Italian have both clearly believed in Dier to become the 'best central defender', whether that be in England or the world and the praise that the 28-year-old has received this season, will surely be handing the England boss a big decision to make.
