Given that Gareth Southgate called two uncapped centre backs into his squad for friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy, it was initially a surprise to hear that he also wanted to try Eric Dier in his back three.
Alfie Mawson and James Tarkowski will have been hoping to make their international debuts in the first game against the Netherlands, but the revelation of his plans for Dier, plus the use of Kyle Walker on the right side of the back three made this even more unlikely.
Dier was listed as a midfielder when the England squad was announced but, sure enough, he entered the fray late in the game to take up one of the positions in the three-man back line.
When Joe Gomez exited the game early due to injury, Harry Maguire replaced him on the left side of the trio, before Maguire himself was then replaced by Dier.
Southgate could have reverted to a back four and used the Tottenham man in midfield, but he stuck the formation he is likely to continue to hone before the big tournament starts in June.
When looking at the bigger picture, Dier’s use in the back three makes sense.
A back three formation, if deployed using a number of ball playing centre backs, can negate the need for an out-and-out defensive midfielder.
England have struggled for any sort of creativity from their deep-lying midfielders, especially when Dier and Jordan Henderson operate in the same lineup, but having players like John Stones, Joe Gomez, Phil Jones, and Dier, means that a lot of the ball carrying, defensive cover, and the occasional probing long ball, is done by the defence rather than the midfield.
This allows Henderson, himself not a natural defensive midfielder, to do the shuttling in front of them, but more importantly it could facilitate the use of two of the main type of midfielder with which England are blessed.
None of Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, and Jack Wilshere; or new kids on the block Harry Winks, Lewis Cook, Nathaniel Chalobah, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, can be described as defensive midfielders. Even the players who do prefer deeper roles are more reknowned for their passing than they are their defending (which isn’t to say these players can’t defend).
Given the amount of good players England have in the roles ahead of the defensive midfielder, ideologically if not positionally, it makes sense for the manager to find a system in which he can use a number of these players without sacrificing defensive solidity.
This is where the back three comes in, and where Stones, and possibly Dier, could come into their own.
Southgate uses Stones, who’s one of the best passers in the Premier League, to instigate attacks from the heart of the defence. He’s a modern day libero who has played in the centre of a three for his club, Manchester City, and up until picking up an injury at the end of last year, he was Pep Guardiola’s go-to player at the back.
Guardiola has spoken on numerous occasions of Stones’ balls, both the ones which leave his boot and those which give him the bravery to play his way out of tight situations as he trusts his technical ability to do so.
Dier would be the ideal backup to Stones, having played in a back three for Spurs, and he would also bringing his qualities as a midfielder into the back line.
This central player can easily step into midfield if the opponent allows them two, safe in the knowledge that he has two others behind him for insurance.
Southgate took this a step further by adding Walker, a natural right back, to a wide position in the three which he might be more used to playing than was initially thought.
At Manchester City the full backs are asked to tuck inside as well as overlap, so Walker will have stepped into the area on the right of the midfield this season as much as he will have reached the byline down the right wing. This experience isn’t too far removed from the position the right-sided centre back in a three will find themselves in when they step out with the ball at their feet. The move from Southgate made complete sense, just as his idea to try Dier in the back three does.
On replacing Maguire, the 24-year-old found himself operating on the left, forming a back three of Walker, a right back; Stones, a ball playing centre back; and Dier, a defensive midfielder.
This rear trident could provide Southgate with the option to leave Henderson out, and go with a duo such as Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere, or Lallana and Alli.
The likes of Henderson, or even the still underrated Danny Drinkwater, could come into the side for the tougher games against the world’s best, but even then the option to field more attacking or creative players remains.
The injury to Gomez means that Tarkowski and Mawson may get their chance in the game against Italy, and it will be interesting to see how they perform in the ball-playing roles.
Maguire has surprised a few people with his proficiency with the ball at his feet, and one or both of this pair could do the same, but if Southgate continues with his ideas for Dier and Walker, then these new faces at the back could find it difficult to get on the plane to Russia.
One man who looks to have secured his seat, is Dier. It just remains to be seen whether he’ll be seated in the middle, or at the back.
