England captaincy would be an honour - Dier on leadership ambitions
Tottenham defender Eric Dier wants to work towards becoming England captain.
The 23-year-old was one of the only England players to emerge with credit from the Three Lions' dismal Euro 2016 campaign and was touted as a future leader in the aftermath of the tournament.
His Spurs team-mate Harry Kane had his leadership qualities praised by England boss Gareth Southgate last week, with the issue of captaincy once again up in the air as Wayne Rooney sits out the current round of international fixtures.
Gary Cahill wore the armband during Wednesday's 1-0 friendly loss to Germany in Dortmund but the Chelsea centre-back is suspended for the home World Cup qualifier against Lithuania on Sunday.
Southgate told reporters he will take time to find the "best scenario" over the captaincy, with a shift away from a permanent skipper possible, and Dier is keen to be part of that conversation.
"It's an ambition of mine, I'd love to be able to do that one day," he told a news conference. "It's something that would be a really big honour for me and something I'd like to work towards.
"It's for the manager to decide and I have to see what comes next.
"In football things can change very quickly. I've always had qualities that a captain may have and I think I can do that job but it's up to the manager to decide who he thinks is best."
Southgate is the third England manager Dier has played under, following Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce's one-game tenure.
He believes having a younger man in charge with a wealth of international playing experience at his disposal could be beneficial to a youthful England squad.
"Gareth has been around the England setup for a while. I don't think he's eager to make everything completely different and change everything. It's just little things here and there
"He was a player not too long ago so he knows how we think and what goes through our minds
"He's played for England so he knows all about that, so hopefully he can pass things on. He wants a camp where we express ourselves, play exciting football and grow as a team.
"He can relate to the situation that we've been in - so has he. He spoke about it on the first day when we met up, about his England career and his career at club level.
"Hopefully young players like myself and the other boys can learn from him."
#Dier ahead of Lithuania: "Whenever you're in an #England squad now we will think of that #Iceland defeat. It's a painful reminder." pic.twitter.com/U8FQa06arf
— Omnisport (@OmnisportNews) March 24, 2017
Lithuania are not expected to pose a significant challenge to the Group F leaders, having twice being easily dispatched en route to Euro 2016.
However, Dier pointed to England's humiliating exit at the hands of Iceland in the competition proper as one that he and others involved should never forget.
"Whenever you're in an England squad you'll probably think about it. It's a painful reminder and a good lesson for the future," he said.
"We can look back on that game and look back on what we didn't do and what we need to do in games like Sunday."