Eric Dier has hit out at claims he asked to be left out of the England Under-21 side because he didn't want to play at right-back. The Tottenham defender has been given permission by U21 manager Gareth Southgate to miss friendlies with Portugal on Thursday and next week against France to 'work on his game'.
"I will never complain to a manager about what position I play as long as I am playing - I'd even play centre-forward if I was asked to," Dier told Tottenham's website.
The former Sporting Lisbon defender will spend the next two weeks putting in extra training with Tottenham Instead of joining up with Southgate's squad.
"I spoke to Gareth Southgate and we were in complete agreement that it was the right thing to do," added Dier.
"We had an open conversation and I think he was happy that I could be so honest with him. If he wasn't completely fine with this then I would never have asked because I would never want to put him in a difficult position.
"He has been fantastic with the whole situation and is really easy to talk to. I certainly would never want to give him or anyone else the wrong impression.
"It not a case that I don't want to play for England, that couldn't be further from the truth.
"It has been a hectic start to the season for me and I have been delighted with the number of games I've played so far.
"Obviously, I have just moved clubs and even though I represent England I have not lived here since I was really young so I am still adapting to my new environment.
"I just felt that this two-week period gives me the opportunity to work on parts of my game that I have had problems with over the past two months, personal elements I need to work on both physically and on the football pitch that I think will make me a better player for both club and country in the long-term."
