Jamie Redknapp Still Sees Tottenham’s Eric Dier as England Captain
Tottenham have five first-team players representing England, and according to Jamie Redknapp, Eric Dier could one day wear the captain’s armband.
Back in June when the European Championship began, Jamie Redknapp, a retired footballer-turned-editorial sports columnist for the Daily Mail and a pundit for Sky Sports, talked about how he envisioned Tottenham holding midfielder Eric Dier as a future England captain.
The 43-year-old said Dier has the makeup to become the Three Lions’ skipper. From the way he plays the game, to the way he speaks in post-match interviews.
Dier, as Redknapp puts it, is a bright and well-educated player who has benefited from playing abroad in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon’s youth academy.
“Eric Dier has the look of a future England captain,” Jamie Redknapp wrote for the Daily Mail. “The way he played, the way he spoke after the game. He’s clearly a bright, well-educated boy who has benefited from playing abroad, in Portugal.”
“He lacks experience and didn’t play in any of the qualifying games but he continued with England where he started with Spurs: growing into the shirt, looking the part. He is a very welcome addition to the England team and a good discovery.”
“There will be bigger tests to come — Gareth Bale, for starters — but I like the way Dier plays with his brain at both ends of the pitch. He played this game like he had 100 caps, not eight.”
“His free-kick deserved to win the match in a game in which England did well, albeit against poor opposition — Russia will probably be the easiest of the three group fixtures. And, sadly, we’ve drawn 1-1 and blown an opportunity to get a start.”
Everything that Jamie Redknapp just said, happened in June as noted up top.
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At the time, Eric Dier was coming off of a breakout campaign. Solidifying himself as Mauricio Pochettino’s first-choice defensive midfielder after originally playing as a center-back.
A change in position hardly made a difference as Dier quickly became one of the Premier League’s best holding mids during the 2015-16 season at the young age of 22.
In 51 appearances last season (out of 53 total games), Dier did a spectacular job of neutralizing offenses from penetrating deep into Tottenham’s defense. The Englishman would routinely break up plays alongside Belgian international Mousa Dembélé.
The two players were a force to be reckoned with, but individually, Pochettino could relax knowing full well that Eric Dier would get the job done when called upon each and every single time.
It is this very reason, being a reliable and good player — plus, Wayne Rooney retiring from international duty after the 2018 World Cup in Russia — that Jamie Redknapp still believes Dier would make a fine captain for England.
“I would say Eric Dier,” Redknapp told the Daily Mail (via Evening Standard) as to who should captain the England national team in the future.
“My only worry is that he is facing a battle with Victor Wanyama for his place at Tottenham. The England captain needs to be in the form of his life for his club.”
“[Jordan] Henderson is another option but the burden of captaining both Liverpool and England could be too great.”
“Longer term I’d give it to Dier or [John] Stones.”
That battle between Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier is something to watch out for this season. Jamie Redknapp brings up a good point that in order to be a captain of a national team, the player has to a.) constantly playing game and b.) be in fine form.
At the moment, Dier has made seven appearances out of 10 games to begin the 2016-17 campaign. Unfortunately for Eric Dier, Wanyama has outshined his English counterpart this early in the season when the two were paired up.
When Dier suffered a hamstring strain against Sunderland and witnessed Victor Wanyama manhandle Manchester City to help Tottenham earn a decisive 2-0 win at White Hart Lane, this put his place in the starting XI in jeopardy.
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Eventually, Mauricio Pochettino will rotate players to give his starters rest, and should the Argentine manager elect to continue using his best players based on form alone, then no doubt Wanyama is going to be the sole defensive midfielder to start important fixtures.
While Dier will be available off the bench to replace the Kenyan international or someone else, trying to play much better than Victor Wanyama has done with Spurs since day one, will be a difficult task this term for Dier.