Ray Wilkins has heaped praise on Tottenham ace Eric Dier after his display in the win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Spurs edge past their London rivals 1-0 at Wembley in the Premier League and it means they are third in the table over the international break.
Heung-Min Son stole the headlines with his winning goal in the second-half, but the defence were tested against a spirited Palace team.
Dier put in a brilliant shift to keep the opposition at bay and was used in a back-three by Mauricio Pocehttino, with defender Toby Alderweireld red out three injury.
The 23-year-old is a versatile ace that can play in midfield or defence, something that makes him a vital asset to the spurs squad.
Sky Sports pundit Wilkins hailed Dier’s performance in defence against Palace as he played an integral role in another three points.
“Pochettino will be delighted that they’ve managed to get a clean sheet [against Palace],” Wilkins wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
“Eric Dier was magnificent at centre-half.”
OPINION
Dier was arguably Spurs’ best player on the pitch at the weekend as they picked up a scrappy three points. The North London club used a lot of energy up in the mid-week win over Real Madrid in the Champions League and victory in the league was imperative no matter how they got it. Dier showed his defensive instincts to continuously snuff out Palace’s dangerous counter attackers and also his passing was outstanding. The England international is still more suited to a defensive midfield role and benefits from long spells in the position, but he showed his versatility very well at the weekend.