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| Eric Dier has been transformed into a holding midfielder this season |
ERIC DIER symbolises everything that is good about Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham – a club making the rest of the Premier League sit up and take notice.
Young, ambitious, mentally tough and English born – just one of the conveyer belt of Three Lions stars who have been moulded by White Hart Lane’s Argentinian born manager.
No wonder Pochettino was Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson’s special guest at the recent Wembley friendly against France.
Dier and his Tottenham teenage midfield partner Dele Alli were at the heart of England’s young looking side against next summer’s European Championship hosts while Kyle Walker and Harry Kane are certain to play big parts in France 2016.
Ryan Mason, Andros Townsend and Danny Rose are also knocking on the door, and then when you take into account Pochettino’s Southampton legacy you discover that nine of the last 17 England debutants have played under him either at St. Mary’s or in North London, players like Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Luke Shaw and Rickie Lambert.
Dier was lured from Sporting Lisbon because he fitted the Pochettino identity, precocious players he can weld into an ambitious, well oiled machine capable of entertaining and threatening the top four.
It seems that after dispensing managers on an almost season by season basis, Spurs have finally clicked with the former Saint producing a squad which is hungry, youthful and most important of all, mentally strong unlike some of their flaky predecessors.
Nine players in the 21 which flew to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in Thursday night’s Europa League tie - an inevitable Harry Kane goal earning a 1-0 win - came through the club’s academy.
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| Dier now has two international caps for England |
Not that a 5.000 mile round trip along with just one day of preparation back in this country is the ideal preparation for the real acid test of the Pochettino revolution, the high noon visit of champions Chelsea.
It’s another high profile examination of 21-year-old Dier’s qualities – a player who although he possesses two England caps, still has less than 30 first team Spurs appearances behind him.
But having taken the same path as greats like Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo who both played for Dier’s boyhood club Sporting Lisbon, there’s a steely determination about the central defender who has been transformed into an intelligent holding midfielder.
The discipline he learned as he moved through the ranks of Sporting, allied to his belief in Pochettino, has aided the seamless transition.
“I trust him (Pochettino) completely.” Dier said. “It’s high tempo football and he wants us to play 100 per cent no matter what the score is or what time of the game it is.”
Dier believes that moving to Portugal with his family at the age of six – father Jeremy was a former tennis professional – has helped him mature quickly following the £4million switch to Tottenham at the beginning of last season.
It would have made his grandfather Ted Croker, the former FA secretary who died a year before he was born, very proud.
“When I joined Sporting Lisbon I lived at the academy and you grew there as a person as well as a footballer.”he added. “For instance if your bedroom was a mess you weren’t allowed out at weekends. You learned great values and hopefully I have stuck with them.
“It was always my ambition to play in England. The Premier League was the only league I watched on TV out there.”
It’s often forgotten that Dier spent 18 months on loan from Sporting Lisbon at Everton from January 2011 to June 2012.
He never got near the first team although it became obvious to some people within Goodison Park that the teenager Dier was too good for the Under 18s, the squad he initially joined.
Former academy director Alan Irvine recalled: “He had some difficult times at Everton but he had people who believed in him.”
Irvine was one and he persuaded manager David Moyes to promote him to the Under 21s and include him in some first team sessions.
“He didn’t feel he was being tested enough.” Irvine added. “In the end David wanted to sign him but he went back to Sporting Lisbon.”
Dier said: “Going to Everton really hardened me up physically and mentally.”
Everton’s loss is Tottenham’s gain and Dier is going from strength to strength and will again be Tottenham’s midfielder enforcer against Chelsea as the home side look for a repeat of the inspirational display which saw them win 5-3 at the Lane last season.
“I think we have already proved that we are capable of taking on and beating the best this season.” Dier added.
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