Eric Dier returned to centre-half for Tottenham’s defeat by Wolves on Sunday and afterwards said he wants to settle in the position permanently, suggesting he no longer wants to play regularly in midfield.

Dier was converted to a holding ­midfield by Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2015, a year after joining Spurs as a versatile young defender from Sporting Lisbon.

His performances in the club’s ­unexpected title challenge of 2015-16 attracted the attention of then England manager Roy Hodgson and Dier has since won 40 caps for his country, including at Euro 2016 and the last World Cup — almost exclusively as a midfielder.

He frequently returned to central defence from the 2016-17 season before a severe case of appendicitis in ­December 2018 left him on the fringes of Pochettino’s squad.

Jose Mourinho’s appointment in November looked set to change Dier’s fortunes, with the Portuguese having tried to sign him as a midfielder during his time in charge of Manchester United.

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Mourinho initially made a point of restoring Dier to the anchorman role, but he soon lost his place to fellow ­midfielders Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso.

Sunday was his first Premier League start at centre-half since Pochettino’s final match in charge, the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United in November.

Despite the defeat, Mourinho afterwards praised Dier’s performance, and the 26-year-old told Standard Sport: “That’s the position I see myself playing, that’s where I see my future.

“I was happy to be able to play and it’s obviously very nice of the manager speaking that way about me. Obviously, the most important thing is the team to win games and we haven’t done that.”

Under Pochettino, Dier refused to commit to a preferred position, always insisting he was happy to play either role and would prioritise the needs of the team.

“I have always been very politically correct on the subject because of many different reasons, but I’ve come to a decision,” he added. “It’s been something that isn’t new for me.

“The old manager knew where I stood for a long time about my position and centre-back is where I see my future and I think where I can be the best I can be.

"With Pochettino, I started to play there this season, in the two games before he left, and I’m happy I got the chance to play there under Mourinho.

“I always knew it would happen eventually. With Pochettino, we spoke about it over many years, not just this year. The most important thing is the team, what the team needs from its players at that time.

"But now I’m at a stage in my career where I want to be playing in my best position. That’s it, really.”

With Spurs leading 1-0 through ­Steven Bergwijn’s second goal for the club since signing from PSV Eindhoven in January, Dier made a hash of Ruben Vinagre’s cross in the build-up to Matt Doherty’s equaliser and he could not prevent Diego Jota and Raul Jimenez scoring after half-time to ­condemn Mourinho’s side to consecutive defeats against top-four rivals.

Following the loss at Chelsea last weekend, Mourinho dropped Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen to the bench and named Dier at the heart of a five-man defence, flanked by Serge Aurier, who also got on the scoresheet, Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga and Ben Davies.

“Eric played very well,” Mourinho said afterwards. “The thinking was simple: Davinson and Tanganga are the two fastest central defenders that we have.

“Eric is the one who, by nature, is a midfield player, so playing in the ­middle between those centre-backs is the one who is normally more comfortable to step up, he’s more comfortable with reading the game and passing.

“It was a mixture of giving security but at the same time keeping fast people at the back. I think they played well, especially Eric. He was very, very good.”

In another display littered with ­defensive errors, Spurs failed to deal with another routine cross for Jota’s equaliser and the Portugal forward ran from inside his own half to set-up Jimenez’s 73rd-minute strike.

Mourinho afterwards branded his players “too nice” and Dier suggested Jota could have been brought down in the build-up to the winning goal.

“For the majority of the game, I think we defended well,” said the 26-year-old.

“We nullified them. It is just in those moments, being smart in the right moments, stopping them in transition, making fouls at the right time. That’s what I think cost us the game.”