Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino believes that the future of England's midfield is "set" thanks to the remarkable emergence of Eric Dier, 22, and Dele Alli, 19.
Alli has taken the Premier League by storm since joining Spurs from MK Dons in the summer, while Dier has excelled in his second season at White Hart Lane after being moved out from centre-back into a defensive midfield role.
Pochettino told Gazzetta World: "In August 2014 a scout showed me footage from MK Dons versus Manchester United. Alli played a great match and we started tracking him, until we finally signed him.
"England's midfield is set thanks to the pairing of Dier and Alli."
Fiorentina bound! @NChadli, @ericdier and @Dele_Alli pose for a picture before ��. #COYS pic.twitter.com/IAgyx2IHaN
- Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 17, 2016
Dier, who made his England debut alongside Alli in November, joined Spurs from Sporting Lisbon in summer 2014 and rotated between centre-back and right-back last season. However, this term he has been a revelation at holding midfield, starting all but one of Spurs league matches so far.
"On the first day of training I asked him to try it out," Pochettino said. "He was convinced it would work out and it has."
Pochettino believes that the midfield pair are key to Tottenham title hopes and also insists that Spurs must win all of their remaining 12 league matches to claim a maiden Premier League title.
Second-place Spurs are two points behind league leaders Leicester City and have their best chance in a generation to win a first championship since the double-winning season of 1960-61.
But after Thursday's Europa League round-of-32 second leg against Fiorentina, Spurs face five league matches in 21 days, including London derbies against West Ham and Arsenal, and Pochettino has challenged his young team to win every remaining match and finish top of the pile.
"We have many games ahead now in the league and to be a team who can fight for the title at the end of the season we need to win every game," the Spurs head coach told Fox Sports Italy.
"We have a key period ahead and I said our supporters are allowed to dream, but we are not. We have to keep working hard and show we deserve to stay in this position."
In their last league match Spurs moved four points clear of title rivals Manchester City with a win at the Etihad Stadium, having lost their previous five games at the Etihad.
While Pochettino refused to describe the victory as a "turning point", he admitted Spurs had broken a "big barrier" by beating Manuel Pellegrini's side.
"The win at Manchester City was perhaps our best win in my time here. It was a great victory, very important for us, because that was a big barrier.
"What was the turning point of our season? It's not a single game or a moment. The month before the season was brilliant and perfect for us and we used every day to build what we have today.
"It's important to enjoy the present but also be careful for the future, to try to improve and learn every day to achieve what we want."