Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier insists he never had any other thought than to represent England at international despite having the opportunity to nails his colours to the Portugal mast.
Dier, who was born in Cheltenham, joined the youth ranks at Sporting Lisbon in 2003 before breaking into the senior set-up nine years later.
The defensive midfielder, who started out as a defender, has revealed there were initial talks about the possibility of switching allegiances to Portugal after failing to appear for the senior England team.
However, the 22-year-old returned to home soil in 2014, signing for Tottenham, and he has never looked back after enjoying a meteoric rise to the top.
The former Everton loanee has become an integral part of the Spurs side whilst also establishing himself in the Three Lions set-up under three different managers.
He played in Friday’s 3-0 2018 World Cup qualifying win over Scotland at Wembley and Dier is confident he made the right decision to stay true to his roots.
“I’m English. I’ve never said the opposite. I’m 100 per cent English. In Portugal it happens that a lot of Brazilians play for Portugal and they’re not Portuguese,” he said.
“When I was growing up I wasn’t a big fan of that. When I grew up, I always had the idea that I would play for England.
I’m fully English, but Portugal is my home.” Dier will be hoping to play some part in England’s friendly against Spain at Wembley on Tuesday night as the international break comes to it’s conclusion.
The hosts, who could be led by interim boss Gareth Southgate for the final time, are 2.88 to win, a draw is priced at 3.20 whilst the visitors are 2.40 favourites.
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