Eric in good company with Young Lions

Eric Dier insists the England connection helped his transition from Sporting to Spurs.

The young defender joined us from Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon in the summer.

He was instantly re-united with England Under-21 team-mates Harry Kane, Tom Carroll and Alex Pritchard – who he’s now with again after being named in the Young Lions’ squad for the Euro Under-21 play-off against Croatia.

Eric, an instant hit with fans after his debut winner at West Ham, has been capped seven times by England Under-21s.

“It’s brilliant that Harry, Pritch and Tom are all in the squad again,” he said. “That really helped me when I came to Spurs. That helped me settle in and made it easier. Now it makes it easier with England as well.”

England stormed through qualifying with nine wins and a draw in 10 to run away with Group One.

Croatia toppled Ukraine on goal difference to head Group Five.

The teams now meet at Wolves’ Molineux on Friday and then in Vinkovic in Croatia on Tuesday for a place in next summer’s Euro Under-21 Finals in the Czech Republic.

“It’s a huge tie with what’s at stake,” added Eric, who made his ninth appearance in all competitions for us off the bench in Sunday’s 1-0 win against Southampton.

“We’ve done really well in qualifying and we’re all determined to get to the finals. It will be tough, but we’re confident we can do it.”