The Rebound: Dier ‘could be made England captain’ after Ramos tackle

After Eric Dier stuck Sergio Ramos in the bin with a hilarious sliding assault on Monday, Gareth Southgate is rumoured to be considering installing him as captain...

A source close to Gareth Southgate has revealed that the England manager ‘is considering’ stripping Harry Kane of the Three Lions captaincy and replacing him as skipper with Eric Dier.

Southgate is believed to have been hugely impressed with the Spurs midfielder’s flying assault on Sergio Ramos during the Spain v England Nations League fixture on Monday night in Seville.

“Look, I know Eric’s rubbish at stuff like passing, shooting and running,” Southgate is reported by our source to have told a ‘leadership group’ within the England setup.

“But as I watched him sprinting towards young Sergio with fire in his eyes before hurling himself at the gorgeous Spanish tw*t with the fury of a hundred thousand Cattermoles, I couldn’t help but turn to Steve Holland and say, ‘f*ck me Steve I think that might have made me pee a bit.’

“It was glorious, really. Exactly what I want to see from my England players.

“Sure, there’s been a lot of talk about an increased focus on technical competence, but when you see that from Eric, how can you not just stop and think, ‘nah f*ck it, let’s just kick people instead.’ That’s the England way, after all.”

According to our England camp insider, Southgate reached out to key FA officials on Tuesday morning about the possibility of removing Kane from his current position as captain.

“Gareth thinks Harry’s great and all that,” said our source. “I mean, he’s good at kicking the ball into the goal, even if he doesn’t really do it for England any more.

“But what he lacks is a little bit of bite, perhaps due to jaw tiredness as a consequence of constant mouth-breathing.

“My man Gaz feels that Eric will lead by example, and that his horrific fouling will really help England kick on to the next level and win Euro 2020.”

Southgate is said to be unconcerned that putting Dier front-and-centre would hamper the progress of gifted ball-playing midfielders like Phil Foden and Harry Winks, and is reportedly considering a new 8-1-1 formation that will bring out the best of Dier’s fouling.

“Gareth just wants Eric to be the best hacker he can be, and will set up his team to ensure he reaches his full potential in that regard,” said our source.

The FA were unavailable for comment in relation to this story, but another source close to Greg Clarke has revealed that the chairman responded to Southgate’s enquiry earlier today by saying, “Eric who?”

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