Southgate plans to drop Dier back into defence
Gareth Southgate is hoping to roadtest his World Cup masterplan by looking at Eric Dier in England’s back three during the friendlies against Holland and Italy.
The Tottenham Hotspur player, who could captain England again with Harry Kane out through injury and Gary Cahill dropped, has mainly been deployed as a deep-lying midfielder for his country. But England manager Southgate, whose
options at the back have been complicated by poor form, injuries and Cahill losing his Chelsea place, believes Dier could excel in a back three and free up more creativity in midfield. John Stones and Harry Maguire seem likely to retain their places, but Dier could slot into the middle of them to give England greater tactical options.
Southgate called up Joe Gomez, Alfie Mawson and James Tarkowski alongside Stones and Maguire, with Dier listed among his midfielders. Moving Dier back is an option Southgate wants to look at before England travel to Russia, as long as he can find the right replacement in midfield. The manager has struggled to find the right balance in the middle of the park, with a central two of Jordan Henderson and Dier lacking creativity.
England face Tunisia and Panama, as well as Belgium, in Group G and will need to find an effective way of breaking down opponents who are happy to get men behind the ball.
Moving Dier back would allow Southgate to try Henderson with a
more creative partner. He has Jack Wilshere, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-chamberlain and Lewis Cook available for the Holland and Italy games. Dier is given the freedom to step up and bolster the midfield when he plays in a back three for Spurs and his team are in possession, dropping back into a conventional defensive position when opponents have the ball.
Meanwhile, Southgate’s refusal to call up Chris Smalling for the latest friendlies has surprised some members of his squad. Southgate questioned the Manchester United centre-back’s passing ability in November, which provoked a withering response from the 28-year-old and left his international future in doubt. But the fact Southgate did not recall Smalling, despite the absences of Cahill, Phil Jones and Michael Keane, raised eyebrows inside the England camp.
Ryan Bertrand has withdrawn from the squad with a back problem, but it is thought to be a precautionary measure. Given he has two other left-backs in his squad, in Ashley Young and Danny Rose, Southgate may choose not to call up a replacement. He could decide to use Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon to train with the squad, having mentioned the 17-year-old, who is with the Under-21s, when he announced his squad last week as a player who was pushing for a senior call-up.
Young, meanwhile, insisted his Manchester United team-mate, and another left-back, Luke Shaw could still become “one of the best in the world”, despite the criticism of him by United manager Jose Mourinho.