Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier has omitted Tottenham star Eric Dier from his best England XI for the World Cup, brutally labelling the versatile midfielder ‘overrated’.
The Three Lions head into their first pre-tournament friendly match on Friday evening against the Netherlands as Gareth Southgate looks to fine tune his squad ahead of Russia.
Tottenham will have several stars in contention for a starting spot for England at the tournament, but Le Tissier has now claimed that Dier is not one of those that should be in Southgate’s starting plans, instead naming Bournemouth youngster Lewis Cook in his lineup.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I’m not picking Eric Dier or Jordan Henderson because I think they are both overrated and I’d actually have Lewis Cook over them, but that back seven is very average looking. I’ve debated whether I could put Adam Lallana in the centre of the park but I’m not sure he offers enough defensively.”
While Le Tissier did snub one Spurs star from his starting lineup, he praised another in Harry Kane, who is set to lead the Three Lions’ attack in the competition.
“Then our forward four is the only part that excites me and without a shadow of a doubt the strongest part of our team, with Harry Kane leading a line with pace and skill,” he said.
OPINION
Le Tissier is obviously entitled to his opinion, but you would think that most England fans would disagree. Dier has shown during his time at Tottenham that he has what it takes to perform for the Three Lions. There are very few players around who can play a starring role at both centre-back and central midfield for a top Premier League side, and there is no reason that the 24-year-old cannot do the same on the international stage. Looking elsewhere, England’s midfield options are not exactly brilliant, and the Tottenham man is surely one of the top two in the squad.