Eric Dier has opened up on his switch to central defence and has admitted that Ledley King has been of great help to him since the former Spurs captain joined Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff.
Some in the game including Watford striker Troy Deeney were questioning even up until last month if Dier can cut it at the top level as a central defender but the 26-year-old is continuing to prove his critics wrong with every game.
Tottenham have conceded just one goal in their last six league matches, managing to keep clean sheets against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in their last three top flight matches.
Dier’s solid displays have been crucial to Tottenham’s impressive results in recent weeks, with the England international having played every single minute of that six-match run.
The former Sporting Lisbon man has reiterated that he has always believed that central defence is his best position.
He told Sunday’s matchday programme (as relayed by Football.London): “There comes a point in your career when you can let it go past you and so you have to make that stand or that decision, and I felt it was the right time for me to do [become a defender].
“It was what I felt inside, what I believed in for some time. I believe it is my best position.”
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Dier also admitted that King was one of the defenders he looked up to when he was younger and revealed that the legendry Tottenham defender constantly has conversations with him before and after matches.
When asked about King’s influence, Dier said: “I don’t say this because I am at Tottenham or to try to please the fans or anything but Ledley was honestly one of the English centre backs that I liked the most when I was growing up.
“The way he played was something that I really loved and it’s been great for me to have him here.
“I speak to him a lot. Just little conversations every now and then. Before a game, after a game. We just have little conversations on points here and there about the opposition, about different aspects. all the time.
“We have a constantly open dialogue where we can talk about things.”
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Although Dier played as a central defender while coming through the ranks at Sporting, he has played in midfield for almost the entirety of the past five years. So, it was always going to take some time for him to get readjusted to playing at the back, especially given the intensity of the Premier League, where there is almost no room for error. We can certainly see that he is getting better and better with each game and gaining more confidence. There is no doubt that he has all the necessary attributes to evolve into a top centre-back.
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