Former England manager Sam Allardyce claims Sergio Busquets is no better than Eric Dier

Former England manager Sam Allardyce has said Spain’s Sergio Busquets is ‘no better or worse than Eric Dier’ following the Three Lions’ Nations League victory on Monday night.

England claimed their first victory on Spanish soil since 1987 as a Raheem Sterling brace and a goal from Marcus Rashford meant the hosts’ late reply, with both Paco Alcacer and Sergio Ramos scoring in the second half, was not enough.

Much of the build up to the game was focussed on Busquets and his ability to dictate games from deep, something England are lacking in their quest to break into the international elite.

Allardyce, however, thinks the hype was all too much.

“He’s no better or worse than Eric Dier,” the former Crystal Palace and West Ham boss said on Talksport.

“Busquets is a sitting midfielder that breaks it up, intercepts and passes it very simply and is intelligent – that’s what he is.

“He’s not much more than that, but gets a huge amount of praise for it, whereas Eric Dier does a similar job but sometimes get a lot of criticism for it.”