Tottenham defender Eric Dier has hailed Romelu Lukaku as one of the best strikers in the world and cannot wait to come up against him when England face Belgium on Sunday.
The Three Lions are taking on Belgium at Wembley in the Nations League, with both Dier and Lukaku primed to start.
After leaving Manchester United last summer, Lukaku has thrived at Inter Milan in Italy and he finished his debut season with 23 Serie A goals.
That tally was only beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo and Ciro Immobile, and Dier is now relishing the prospect of testing himself against Lukaku.
“He is a fantastic striker, one of, I think, the best in the world,” said Dier.
“His record is fantastic and for me it is always a pleasure to be able to challenge myself against the best – and I definitely see him in that category.
“I was lucky enough to play against him a few times when he was in the Premier League, so I know him quite well from those times.
“It is a very difficult challenge, but one that I am looking forward to.”
Since the last World Cup two years ago, Dier has endured a difficult time for club and country due to injury and illness.
The 26-year-old scored the winning penalty against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup as England ended their wait to win a knockout shootout, but he has fallen on tough times since.
Dier, though, has fought his way back into the squad, overcoming appendicitis on the way, and the Spurs defender admitted it has not been easy.
“It has been a bit of a journey since then (the 2018 World Cup),” said Dier.
“You can’t get much higher than the feeling at that World Cup and then from there I went through some difficult times, mainly with my health.
“That put me in a very difficult position for a while. But I have been working very hard to try and get back to where I was at that moment [in 2018] – and go past that.
“I am really happy to be back with England and the feeling in the last camp being back, and getting the call again this time, has been even more special given what I went through last season.”
