The England midfielder believes he is finally returning to the form and feeling that made him an integral part of Spurs’ rise last season

Eric Dier is recreating the flashpoint with Ander Herrera from England’s friendly at Wembley last month. Not the one when he copped an elbow to the face from the Manchester United and Spain midfielder, which left him fuming. Rather, what happened after the 2-2 draw in the mixed zone – the stretch of the stadium that is devoted to player interviews with the media.

It is Wednesday night; Dier and Tottenham Hotspur have just beaten CSKA Moscow 3-1 at Wembley in their final Champions League tie and the 22-year-old is back in the zone. “I was up that side and Herrera was here, further along the line,” he says. “And I said: ‘I’m sure I’ll see him soon,’ and I’m pointing at him.”

There was no doubt that Dier had been angry. After the Spain game, he described Herrera’s action as “ridiculous, dirty and not needed”. Dier was asked, on the night, whether he had sought an apology. “I don’t need him to apologise, I’ll see him soon,” he replied. “I don’t know why he did it.”

Dier’s “see him soon” line was transposed on to the back pages, because such an apparent threat adds up to a news story and the clash is now afoot, with Dier and Tottenham going to United on Sunday. It feels like a game that will say a good deal about each club, but there will be no showdown between Dier and Herrera. “I was just joking with him,” Dier says. “But, sometimes, jokes with people don’t come across when they are written down.”

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At that point, Dier’s Tottenham and England team-mate Dele Alli comes up behind him and slaps him around the back of the head, before slinking off with a smile on his face. It is playful but, it has to be said, pretty hard. “I’ll be seeing him soon in training,” Dier says, and everybody roars.

Dier is in relaxed mood. Tottenham have finally won at their temporary new home – even if it was too late to rescue their Champions League hopes; the Europa League now awaits – and, with the 5-0 home victory over Swansea from last Saturday factored in, the talk at the club is of a corner being turned.

From mid-October to the Swansea game, Tottenham won one in 10 fixtures in all competitions and their play was often short of cut and thrust. Goals were a problem. Swansea and CSKA were poor opposition and it will take victory over a better team – say, United – to give substance to the club’s recovery.

It was around this time last season that Tottenham kicked on, putting together an eye-catching run that marked them out as Premier League title contenders and Mauricio Pochettino has noted how his team are two points better off now, at the corresponding stage, than they were back then.

“This is a really good period in the season for Tottenham,” Dier says. “Last year, we went on a good run and, if we replicate that, we will be in a really good place after Christmas. We’d be well in the mix.”

Dier hopes and believes that he can generate something similar on a personal level, after what has been a strange season for him. Last season, having been converted by Pochettino from a centre-half and sometime right-back to a defensive midfielder, he not only made the role his own at White Hart Lane but he became the first-choice there for England.

It was difficult to see what more he could have done. His first competitive game in the position for Tottenham had been against United at Old Trafford – in the 1-0 loss on the opening day of last season – and he looked a little wobbly at first. The way he came to adapt spoke volumes for his ability and intelligence.

Pochettino, nevertheless, moved to sign Victor Wanyama in the summer. It was a smart piece of business and not only because £11m represented a knock-down fee from Southampton. The defensive midfielder would increase Pochettino’s options – he would need that with a Champions League campaign in store – and he would also fire competition for places. Pochettino was in a position of strength, but he wanted to build.

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From Dier’s point of view, Wanyama has put the squeeze on him because, for various reasons, the Kenyan has come to be regarded by Pochettino as the first-choice in defensive midfield. The manager reasoned that Dier and the more attack-minded Mousa Dembélé would not be able to start every game in central midfield and he has been proved correct. Dembélé has been missing through suspension and injuries. When all three have been available to start, Pochettino has invariably gone with Wanyama and Dembélé in midfield.

He began the season by using Dier and Wanyama together in midfield, which did not really work, and he has twice started Dier ahead of Wanyama as the defensive midfielder – in the Champions League home tie against Monaco and the EFL Cup game at Liverpool. Tottenham lost on both occasions.

Pochettino moved Dier back into central defence against Sunderland in September – after the Monaco game – to accommodate Wanyama and Dembélé in midfield; Dier injured his hamstring and missed the next three matches. His way back into the starting lineup came in central defence at West Bromwich Albion on 15 October after Toby Alderweireld went off with a serious knee problem and, apart from the Liverpool cup tie, he has filled in there ever since.

“It’s been a difficult start to the season for me – it’s been there for everyone to see,” Dier says. “It’s been tough from the beginning, coming back late after the Euros and I haven’t really been able to get going. I got injured and that halted me again. Then, Toby got injured and I played there [in central defence].

“I’m trying to get back to having a good feeling again, like I did last season and, over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been getting back to that.”

Dier’s interpretation of the defensive midfield role was central to making Tottenham tick last season. He would drop back to make a defensive three with the centre-halves and provide the security for the full-backs, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose, to bomb forward. Dembélé would also drop a little deeper. It is Walker and Rose who offer this team their pace and width, more than any of the wide midfielders.

This season, Dier has reprised his midfield partnership with Dembélé for a grand total of 36 minutes – in the second half of the home game against Monaco. A fundamental change to last season’s team appears to have drifted under the radar.

Wanyama has been one of the team’s most consistent performers and there is an eye-catching quality to his game, particularly in the way that he outmuscles opponents. He covers a prodigious amount of ground but is he as polished as Dier in terms of his distribution? It is possible to see Dier as being a victim of his versatility and with Alderweireld now fit to start it feels as though Dier will be the player to make way at Old Trafford.

“It’s completely up to the manager where I play,” Dier says. “What is more important than my position is getting the right feeling and feeling good again, physically and mentally. This is football and these things happen to everyone. It’s not been a catastrophe; it’s just been a bit of a slow start.”