Ever since Wayne Rooney announced his international retirement - which was probably a few years too late - the onus has been on finding the next England captain.There have been a number of nominees, from Joe Hart to Gary Cahill and most recently, Harry Kane, who took the armband for the last two World Cup qualifiers.Liverpool's Jordan Henderson is also mentioned with taking the responsibility, however, he was unable to do this international break due to picking up an injury and pulling out of the squad.As such, Gareth Southgate has had to really dig around to find a new captain and Tottenham's Eric Dier has been the man tasked with leading the Three Lions.To be fair, he didn't do a bad job in the 0-0 draw vs Germany at Wembley but nevertheless, most England fans are not exactly thrilled about the prospect of Mauricio Pochettino's utility man being given the position.And, it seems Southgate hasn't exactly helped himself when explaining why he thinks Dier is a suitable candidate.

SOUTHGATE'S BIZARRE REASONING

So basically, not growing up in the English system is beneficial to a player's career. Not exactly instilling national pride, is he?

Dier spent most of his early career with Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, however, he did make a brief appearance on loan at Everton in the 2011/12 season.

SOUTHGATE SPEAKING ABOUT DIER BEFORE BRAZIL GAME

"It's good experience for him," said Southgate.

"I think being the captain on the pitch is one element of being a captain and showing leadership the rest of the time we're in camp is another part.

"The on-field part might help to raise the level of your performance, the level of ownership and responsibility.

"The bigger picture is we want some of these young lads to feel the responsibility a bit more.

"Eric has good tactical understanding on the field."

KANE SURELY HAS TO BE THE LONG-TERM OPTION

A lot of England fans will likely agree that Kane is the man to lead from the front in the long term.

The Spurs goal-getter is undoubtedly England's finest asset and giving him some added responsibly may enhance his international form.

Bring on Russia 2018.