Gareth Southgate has been explaining his reasons for why he left Eric Dier out of his England squad for this summer’s European Championships.
The Three Lions boss answered questions from the media earlier this afternoon and was asked about the omission of the 45-cap defender.
Southgate admitted that Dier has had a difficult season at Tottenham Hotspur and believes that he has not shown enough to warrant his place in the 33-man provisional squad.
The 50-year-old instead decided to select John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Conor Coady, Ben White and Ben Godfrey as the six central defenders who are likely to take part in the two friendlies at Wembley against Austria on 2 June and Romania on 6 June before Southgate trims his squad further.
Dier famously scored a brilliant free-kick during England’s last European Championship campaign in 2016 against Russia but has not been utilised in any of England’s last three matches.
The 27-year-old started 28 of Tottenham’s 38 Premier League matches this season (transfermarkt), but was guilty of a number of defensive errors including against Leeds United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Southgate said, as quoted by Jonathan Veal: “He is a man who I have tremendous respect for and he has been a key player in our biggest moments. I just think his season has not been strong enough to be in the squad and that’s difficult because I know how much he brings to the group.”
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