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Eric Dier has denied claims he doesn’t want to play for England after the Tottenham defender pulled out of the latest Under-21s squad.
Standard Sport reported earlier that Dier’s decision was made with the future in mind, and that the two-week international break would allow him to take part in an intense training regime at Spurs.
Dier, 20, who moved to White Hart Lane in the summer from Sporting Lisbon, today confirmed he is still settling into his new surroundings and insisted the time away from the international squad would be “far from a rest”.
Speaking to the Tottenham website, Dier said he and Gareth Southgate, the England U21s manager, were in “complete agreement” about his choice.
“We had an open conversation and I think he was happy that I could be so honest with him,” Dier said.
“If he wasn’t completely fine with this then I would never have asked because I would never want to put him in a difficult position.
“It is not a case that I don’t want to play for England, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Obviously, I have just moved clubs and even though I represent England I have not lived here since I was really young so I am still adapting to my new environment.
“I just felt that this two-week period gives me the opportunity to work on parts of my game that I have had problems with over the past two months, personal elements I need to work on both physically and on the football pitch that I think will make me a better player for both club and country in the long-term.”
Asked whether he was unhappy about playing at right-back instead of his preferred central position, Dier replied: “I will never complain to a manager about what I position I play as long as I am playing – I’d even play centre-forward if I was asked to.”
