Former Everton manager David Moyes admits he would have liked to have signed Eric Dier on a permanent basis four years ago.

The Tottenham star spent time on loan with the Toffees' youth academy from Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon in 2011/12 but returned to the Estadio Jose Alvalade to make his senior debut in November 2012.

Moyes says the 22-year-old England international was certainly of interest to Everton but has revealed that he ultimately missed out on a player who developed his technical game in Portugal which has allowed him to adapt to a number of different positions both with Spurs and at international level with the Three Lions.

"Eric was at Everton for a spell while I was there, but we never really had the chance to sign him permanently," Moyes wrote for the Daily Express.

"He was on loan from Sporting Lisbon and was always expected to go back there.

"He was a centre-back then, although he played right-back and even left-back because he was so comfortable on the ball. There's no doubt his technical attributes have been shaped by his time in Portugal."

Dier added another string to his bow by scoring England's goal with a well-taken free-kick in their 1-1 draw with Russia on Saturday in their opening Euro2016 match.