All connected with Tottenham will be hoping to find Eric Dier in the headlines for the right reasons when Gareth Southgate names his latest England squad on Thursday afternoon. Following such a dismal international break in June which included a demoralising 4-0 home defeat against Hungary, the Three Lions boss could look to shake things up ahead of this month's games.
With the 2022 World Cup on the horizon in November, this is the last opportunity Southgate has to take a good look at his players before making his final selection for the tournament. The 52-year-old will know the vast majority of his squad but there will still be a couple of places that are there for the taking.
One position where there could potentially be a bit of change ahead of November is at centre-back. Last featuring in an England squad back in March 2021, Dier's return to the Three Lions fold could happen on Thursday when Southgate confirms his squad for the Italy and Germany fixtures.
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A call-up would certainly be richly deserved after a terrific start to the season, although many Spurs fans will point to the fact that he should have been included in the previous squads due to his form under Antonio Conte. At a time when Harry Maguire is not currently in the Manchester United team, an England call would put Dier in a promising position to secure a place in the World Cup squad.
As well as Dier potentially making a long-awaited return to the England team, Ryan Sessegnon could quite possibly be another player that comes into Southgate's thinking. Becoming a regular under Conte in the final few months of last season after previously struggling at Tottenham following a host of injuries, the ex-Fulham man has started to recapture the form that saw him come to the attention of Spurs when he was excelling at Craven Cottage.
Although Sessegnon has alternated at left wing-back with Ivan Perisic this campaign, he has impressed when in the starting XI and handed Conte a tough selection decision to make in the process. Scoring on the opening day with a header in the 4-1 win over Southampton, he was very impressive going forward against Fulham at the start of the month and was rather unlucky not to have a goal and a couple of assists to his name.
Whereas Southgate has multiple options at right wing-back, it is a rather different situation altogether when it comes to the left side. Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell have been the picks on the left over the past few years but the former is no longer in the Manchester United XI and the latter has only just returned from a serious cruciate ligament injury.
That in turn could open the door for another left-sided player to come in for the Italy and Germany fixtures, thus potentially giving Sessegnon a glimmer of hope following such a good start to the campaign. However, the England boss has the option of playing Kieran Trippier on the left as he has done previously, with Leicester's James Justin and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka also used there during the last international break.
A player Southgate is well aware of having worked his way through the various age levels for England as a youngster, Sessegnon was always tipped to make the senior England squad after bursting onto the scene at Fulham, with even talking of him earning a place in the 2018 World Cup plans. However, injuries and a failure to replicate his early Fulham form have stopped him from jumping up from the Under-21s so far.
Providing he continues to go from strength to strength at Tottenham and then goes up another level or two in the process, Sessegnon can quite easily realise his England dream even if he is not to be part of the party for this month's games. The opportunity is certainly there for someone with Shaw not playing regularly and Chilwell only just returning to action after a long period on the sidelines.
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