Why ‘El Dragon’ Harry Kane and ‘New Busquets’ Eric Dier are vital for Tottenham’s trip to West Ham Having earned rave reviews for performances against Spain, the pair need to sustain their output if Spurs are to win fiery London derby

‘El Dragón no fue Khan, fue Kane’ was the Diario AS headline after England’s victory over Spain on Monday evening. An allusion to Luis Enrique’s claim to be a high-octane coach before his first game in charge of La Roja at Wembley last month – “I like adrenaline, I love the Dragon Khan ride,” he said in reference to the looping rollercoaster at PortAventura themepark – the feeling among the Spanish press was that watching Harry Kane in Seville was more of a thrill than any member of Enrique’s side, who were more spinning teacups than high-intensity excitement.

Though some of his teammates had a better claim to ‘main attraction’ status on the night – Marcus Rashford with his perfectly weighted through-ball to Raheem Sterling for the opener, Sterling with his rocketed finish and Eric Dier for his fantastically needless reducer on Sergio Ramos – Kane certainly deserved plaudits for two deft assists and making Spain’s centre-backs utterly miserable. “He ate Sergio Ramos and Nacho, together and separately,” was the verdict from AS. While Kane was hailed as ‘El Dragón’ in Seville, back home Sam Allardyce went as far as to claim that Dier was now as good as Sergio Busquets.

"Busquets is no better than Dier… The i newsletter latest news and analysis Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. …Dier does a similar job to Busquets but he gets a lot of criticism for it!" Sam Allardyce believes #THFC's @EricDier is as good as Barca's Busquets but doesn't get the same credit! ???? ???? Take a listen & give us your thoughts! ↓ pic.twitter.com/WOhINsq4og — talkSPORT Breakfast (@TSBreakfast) October 16, 2018

While this – along with one listener’s suggestion that Harry Winks doesn’t get the praise he deserves because he isn’t called Winksiesta – is one of the most ‘Brexit means Brexit’ football opinions ever aired in public, Dier too deserved high praise for a performance in which he set the tone for England’s first-half dominance. After a choppy start to the domestic season for both Kane and Dier, a strong showing across the international break will be welcome. The question now is: can they keep it up with Tottenham in the Premier League?

Criticism and inconsistent form

Dier in particular has come in for much derision and criticism recently, not least after a lacklustre showing as Tottenham succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in mid-September. Given that Allardyce made his Busquets comparison on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast Show, it perhaps says something about the fickleness of the English commentariat that last month Brazil himself said that he was “beginning to doubt whether we’re talking top, top class” when it came to Spurs’ centre-back-come-defensive-midfielder.

????️ Brazil: 'I'm beginning to doubt if he's top, top class.' ????️ Parlour: 'I don't know what he brings to the midfield.' Al & Ray say Eric Dier's performance against Liverpool has increased their doubts about the #THFC & England midfielder. Do you think Dier is overrated? ???? pic.twitter.com/0saGyW4uVn — talkSPORT Breakfast (@TSBreakfast) September 17, 2018

When Mauricio Pochettino dropped Dier to the bench for the visit of Barcelona to Wembley earlier this month, it was widely hailed as a common-sense decision at the expense of a player struggling to impose himself in the midfield. In light of his controlled performance against Spain, it has now been suggested that Dier was just what Spurs were missing against Barca. As Pochettino must have long ago realised, the game of opinions has a borderline incomprehensible rulebook.

Meanwhile, Kane has found form in fits and bursts so far this season. Though he is currently third in the Premier League goalscoring charts, he has failed to score in five of his 10 appearances for Tottenham and has looked sporadically tired and diminished. Having come into the season straight off the back of World Cup campaign in which he also seemed to tire and gradually lose his edge, there has been talk of everything from burnout to Kane’s goal return having passed its peak. Though he hasn’t scored for England in the four games since Russia, a productive performance against Spain is all it takes for most to agree that ‘El Dragón’ is back again.

Meeting with a bogey team

While fatigue seems like a reasonable explanation for Kane’s slight dip in form – though he isn’t exactly flatlining – his inconsistencies reflect those of Tottenham as a whole this term. Fifth in the table, two points off top spot, their win over Cardiff City last time out saw them equal their best ever start to a Premier League season.

Nonetheless, there are unresolved issues. Their three-match losing run in September pointed to an underlying vulnerability, while their recent recovery on the back of narrow (and not always convincing) wins against Huddersfield, Cardiff and Watford in the League Cup was punctured by an emphatic defeat to Barca which may have ended their ambitions in the Champions League. There is still a sense in which, while much improved under Pochettino, Spurs still seem to be in a category below Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.

When Spurs travel to the London Stadium on Saturday to resume their domestic campaign, they will face a West Ham side who have undergone their own mini-renaissance and who, more importantly, have been one of their bogey teams of the last few years. Despite their disparate finishing positions, West Ham have won four, lost four and drawn two of their last 10 league games against their bitter rivals.

The strength of Tottenham’s revival from their September slump will be apparent this weekend, with Pochettino and co facing a tough challenge in what should be a typically fiery London derby. There will be little respite for players who are fatigued or out of form, whether or not they performed well with England in the midweek.

That’s why, for Kane and Dier, this weekend holds extra significance. Having earned rave reviews for their efforts against Spain in sharp contrast to the criticism they have received domestically, they now need to show that they can sustain their output despite the stamina-sapping transition back to club football.

Tottenham, having averted disaster last month, are still in a subtly fragile position with their upswing in results not entirely convincing. They will need ‘El Dragón’ up front and the new Busquets in the midfield – to use Allardyce’s extremely creative phrasing – if they are to reaffirm their status as title challengers and contenders over the coming weeks.