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Despite all the negatives in England’s shambolic showing at the European championships there were a few positives signs. Eric Dier thrived in his role to provide cover for the back four, and although he wasn’t as good as he was for his club Tottenham, Dele Alli was usually the starting point at any attacks England created.
There are no doubts that these two are fantastic talents, and will definitely have a key role to play in future tournaments. They are close off the pitch, and seem to have an incredible understanding on the pitch. They both had extremely different routes to where they are today, and with age on their side, could they become future England legends?
Dele Alli started his career at MK dons, coming through a youth academy that had already produced some young talents in Brenden Galloway and Shelvey Ojo. He made his debut at 16 against Cambridge in the FA cup, and his first touch was a back heel. He impressed for the Dons that season, which led interest from his boyhood club Liverpool and German champions Bayern Munich.
While Alli was tearing league 1 to shreds Eric Dier’s story began completely differently. When he was 7, Dier moved to Portugal with his family. He eventually joined the Sporting academy. His breakthrough came at the start of the 2012 season. Impressive performances for Sporting B led to him being promoted to Sporting’s A team. He assisted the only goal in the game on his debut, and followed that up with a goal two weeks later. After two highly successful years in Sporting, Dier signed a five year deal with Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile in England Alli’s fame was starting to rise. Ahead of the 2014-15 season, major interest was reported from some of the best clubs in England. He was a key part of the Dons system that year and all his good performances earnt him a £5 million move to Tottenham with him being loaned back to MK for the rest of the season. His last season with his boyhood club ended in the perfect way, promotion to the Championship.
This season it was Alli’s first and Dier’s second year of Premier league football. Many thought that Dier would act as backup and Alli would be sent on loan. However both proved to be integral parts of a successful Tottenham system. Alli acted as the box to box midfielder, winning the ball in his own half and finishing it off with a late run into the box. Dier had an even more important role, while the sets of fullbacks attacked he dropped back into the centre back position to provide cover for the back four. Both helped Tottenham to a club record second place finish.
Both had extremely impressive seasons which led to them being called up to Roy Hodgson’s England squad. Both managed to score as well, Alli scored a 25 yard thunderbolt against France and Dier scored a 90 minuet winner against Germany. Both managed to get called up to the squad for Euro 2016.
So could these two be the next Lampard and Gerrard? Well, they are both midfielders who manage to provide both attacking threat and defensive support, and they have fantastic ability on the both and make cleaver runs off the ball. They also manage to play well with each other in the team, which is something Gerrard and Lampard could never do. So you never know, they might be even better.
Written by Tom Blanche
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