Eric Dier feels he can excel as a centre-back having been placed at the heart of the Tottenham Hotspur defence by Jose Mourinho.
The England international has been given the nod at the back by the Portuguese since the Premier League made its return following a three-month hiatus.
Having lined up at centre-back in the four games before the coronavirus pandemic brought a halt to the campaign, Dier has held onto his position, meaning Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have been left on the sidelines.
Having made a shaky return after conceding the penalty which enabled Manchester United to earn a point in the first game back, Dier bounced back by helping Spurs to a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over West Ham.
And the 26-year-old believes he can flourish at the heart of the defence under Mourinho, and is aiming to nail down the position.
“It’s not something that changed overnight for me, it’s a feeling I’ve had for a long time,” Dier told Spurs’ website.
“That was always my feeling, where I saw myself and where I thought I could excel the most.
“I’m really happy to be getting my chance to try and prove myself there and I feel like I can really excel there.
“I can still improve on lots of things but I’m happy we got the clean sheet against West Ham. I felt like we deserved a clean sheet against Manchester United and I’m really disappointed for my part in that having had such a good team performance.
“I thought we defended well throughout the whole game against United, just that sloppy moment, so I’m really happy that we got the clean sheet against West Ham.”
