Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has admitted that it is a “surprise” to see that Tottenham Hotspur's Eric Dier has been left out of the England squad following Gareth Southgate’s recent announcement.
The Lowdown: Dier not named in England squad
The 28-year-old has been capped 45 times for his country, but despite not playing any part in the England starting XI since November 2020, he has enjoyed a standout campaign with the Lilywhites under Antonio Conte. He has made 25 Premier League appearances since the Italian’s arrival in N17, offering hope that he might have had a strong chance of earning a recall under Southgate.
However, the Three Lions boss has denied the Spurs centre-back that opportunity by selecting the likes of Conor Coady, Marc Guehi and Ben White ahead of him, even though Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings has also been omitted from the 27-man squad.
[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-developments-2/" title="Tottenham latest developments!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]
The Latest: Bridge ‘very surprised’ by Dier omission
Bridge has admitted his disbelief at the fact that Dier had been overlooked by Southgate and suggested that the Tottenham defender deserved to be given a place in the England squad.
The journalist told GiveMeSport: “I’m surprised, very, very surprised. I thought he would be a shoo-in for this England squad, because for me, he’s my player of the year at Tottenham, but Gareth Southgate only seems to appreciate him in a back three.
“But I still believe if there was a World Cup next month, Dier would be in it. I could be completely deluded, although I’m very surprised, especially given how much he valued him at Under-21 level.”
The Verdict: Valuable experience at the back
Considering the form of some defenders who did make the cut, it does come as a bit of a shock to see the £92k-per-week Spurs star miss out on the Nations League fixtures. For instance, Dier's WhoScored rating of 6.76 for the season matches that of Guehi and exceeds Coady's 6.64, so it is understandable why Bridge has been left astonished.
The Cheltenham native has averaged four clearances and 3.7 long balls per league game in 2021/22, via WhoScored, showing not only his ability to be a rock at the heart of the Spurs backline, but also how he can create attacking moves for his team-mates at the other end of the pitch.
Dier has recorded a total of 16 clean sheets in the Premier League this term, which contributed to Tottenham successfully securing a Champions League place for 2022/23, and that experience is something that England will now miss out on ahead of their upcoming games against Hungary, Germany and Italy next month.
In other news… a huge Spurs transfer update has come to light involving one of the club’s ‘top targets’