Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier is on the same level as Barcelona player Sergio Busquets, according to former England manager Sam Allardyce.
Dier and Busquets went head-to-head in Seville on Monday night as England beat Spain 3-2 in the Uefa Nations League.
The Spurs man got praise for his performance, working in a midfield trio alongside Harry Winks and Ross Barkley in keeping their Spanish counterpart quiet, particularly in the first half with England racing into a 3-0 lead.
And Allardyce, who took charge of England for one game in September 2016, believes Busquets – widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world – is no better than Dier.
“The praise about Busquets must be stopped, it was never evident last night, he looked out of sorts,” he told talkSport.
“He’s no better or worse then Eric Dier, for me.
“Busquets is a sitting midfield player who breaks up play, intercepts, passes it very quickly and is intelligent. That’s what he is. He’s not much more than that, but he gets a lot of praise for it.
“Whereas Eric Dier does a similar job, but sometimes gets loads of criticism for it.
“He [Dier] has got the capability of being that.
“Busquets has been a great player for Spain and Barcelona, don’t get me wrong. He’s a very effective player and is the first pick for every manager because he plays such a simple game.
“But we laud him as a genius, whereas our own we don’t, we criticise.
“Eric Dier was far better than Busquets last night.”
The win for England over Spain saw the Three Lions leapfrog Croatia into second in League A4, two points behind La Roja with just one game left to play.
Dier will now return to club action with Spurs on Saturday, as they take on West Ham United at the London Stadium.
How do Busquets and Dier compare?
Despite still being six years younger than Busquets, Dier is some way off having the same impact on his club than the Spaniard has had on Barcelona and Spain.
Making his move to the Barcelona first team in 2008, Busquets has played 493 times for the Blaugrana in addition to 110 Spain caps. In that time, the midfielder has seven La Liga titles, three Champions Leagues, six Copa del Reys, the European Championships and World Cup among other minor trophies.
Whereas Dier is yet to win a trophy in his career, representing England 36 times and so far making 221 first team appearances split between Tottenham (190) and Sporting CP (31).
This season in their respective leagues, Busquets has shone ahead of Dier too, completing more passes per 90 (78.2 to 48.48) as well as winning more tackles at 2.04 to Dier’s 1.09.
The post ‘Eric Dier is as good as Busquets’ – Allardyce appeared first on Squawka News.
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