Tottenham have finally drawn the curtain upon Eric Dier’s nine-year stay at the club. The defender leaves after 365 appearances and signals the almost complete dismantling of the squad which Mauricio Pochettino created in his first season at the club, Ben Davies is the only man who remains.
After almost a decade stay at a club, it’s easy to forget the context of when Eric joined Tottenham. Dier signed for around £4 million from Sporting Lisbon, aged 20 having only made 14 senior appearances for the Portuguese giants in 2013/14 (TransferMarkt).
The young defender started his career in Lilywhite incredibly, netting a late winner against West Ham. The game was subsequently the start of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure at Spurs, and Dier’s winner earned the Argentine boss’ trust, Eric went on to make 28 Premier League appearances in his maiden season with Spurs (TransferMarkt).
Dier was utilised initially as a versatile defensive option for Pochettino. Kyle Naughton was Pochettino’s version of Cristian Romero in the first half of the season, being dismissed twice with two straight reds; a factor which led to his sale to Swansea in January.
The constant absence of Naughton meant that Dier often filled in as a right-back alongside a combination of either Fazio, Kaboul, or Vertonghen. The business Tottenham made in the summer of 2015 is what truly paved the way for Dier. There was a large personnel turnover at the club as defenders Stambouli and Kaboul departed, allowing for the signing of Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer (TransferMarkt).
However, it was the departures of midfielders Paulinho, Capoue, and Holtby that allowed Dier’s career to be redefined at Tottenham as Pochettino sought to mould the 21-year-old’s attributes into a player that suited him; an idea that started to become a regular occurrence throughout Eric’s time at Tottenham.
Dier undoubtedly has an impressive passing range, but it was that combined with his defensive abilities which appealed to Pochettino. Eric became reformed into a midfield anchor for Tottenham, Dier would offer a layer of protection in front of the Belgian wall that was Vertonghen and Alderweireld whilst also having the ability to kickstart attacks when possession was overturned.
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Tottenham defied the odds in the 2015/16 season and pushed for the title, only to finish 3rd, but multiple young Englishmen were at the heart of the Spurs team that season; Dier, Dele & Kane. Fans were even labelling Dier as a ‘future Tottenham captain’ due to a heartfelt interview he gave after an impressive 4-1 win against Man City at the start of the season, which Dier netted in. The then 21-year-old Dier stated how he hears ‘what people say about Tottenham and doesn’t like it’ (Tottenham).
The young midfielder jetted off to the EURO’s with England in the summer of 2016 after his impressive campaign even scoring a crucial goal that earned a point. Under Pochettino, Eric seemed to progress in alignment with the team, his best season in Lilywhite was also Pochettino’s best league finish with Spurs, 2nd in 2017/18.
Dier proved himself as one of the leading defensive midfielders in the league that season, he had the 11th most tackles won in the middle of the pitch, 39 (9 higher than any other Spurs player), Dier also completed the 5th most successful long passes out of any outfield player in the league that season (FBRef).
The turning point then occurred in 2019 when Jose Mourinho took over Tottenham. Dier started Mourinho’s first games in charge in his typical defensive midfielder role, doing an apt job of offering an extra layer of protection in front of a combination of either Alderweireld, Sanchez or Vertonghen.
However, Dier started to push back on the idea of him being an established defensive midfielder, five months into Jose’s tenure. Dier explained following his appearance in defence as part of a back five against Wolves that ‘it’s obviously very nice of Mourinho and that’s the position [centre back] I see myself playing. That’s where I see my future’.
He enforced his point later outlining ‘I have always been very politically correct on the subject because of many different reasons but it’s been something that isn’t new for me. The old manager knew where I stood for a long time about position and centre-back is where I see my future and I think where I can be the best’ (Goal).
The interview was a line in the sand for Dier, displaying his reluctance to continue playing as a defensive midfielder and his eagerness to start in a deeper-lying role. It was a view clearly reflected by his fellow Portuguese-speaking head coach.
Jan Vertonghen hadn’t been the same since his apparent concussion earlier in the season which meant that the Belgian was let go at the end of his deal in the summer of 2020, his long-term defensive partner; Toby Alderweireld was also starting to show signs of deterioration too.
It became a rollercoaster of three years for Dier in his defensive role, the move appeared near calamitous after his first season, Dier conceded two penalties and made three errors that led to chances, Luke Ayling and Harry Maguire were the only outfield players to make more (FBRef).
There was a glimmer of hope for Dier’s career switch when Antonio Conte breathed new life into the defender. The Italian heaped on praise for Dier even stating he could be ‘one of the best in the world in that position’ (Athletic). It signalled a point of no return for Dier’s time playing in midfield and ensured that Eric would be Conte’s starting centre-half.
The Italian did appear to live, and die by, having Dier at centre back. The coveted manager did squeeze the most out of the Englishman however as he was subsequently picked by Gareth Southgate for the 2022 World Cup squad.
Despite improvement in his displays, Dier’s average performance in defence for Tottenham was extremely underwhelming, the 6-1 humiliation away to Newcastle last season spelt out the need for defensive reinforcements in the summer.
Unfortunately for Dier, Ange Postecoglou undertook the Spurs job in the summer, and it became apparent Dier was no longer in favour as he had been for the past three permanent managers. Dier had taken a gamble upon his career back in 2020 to double down on becoming a world-class defender, whereas he perhaps should have continued being a valuable, versatile midfield and defensive option.
Mickey Van De Ven joined and immediately impressed and now in addition to that, Tottenham have signed the young Romanian defender, Radu Dragusin, who offers Tottenham an extra layer of depth to their backline and ensured that they could afford to show Eric Dier the exit door after nine years.
Dier would only have to look across to Ben Davies for an example of how to elongate your Tottenham career; Davies’ ability to play left back and central defence has made him an indispensable squad option for all his managers, progressive or not.
Eric Dier ends his near-decade career with Tottenham Hotspur
Now that the dust has settled upon Dier’s Tottenham career, it will likely be that he is remembered as an important member of many exciting Tottenham squads, and he alongside Alli and Kane will likely be fondly reflected upon as the embodiment of Pochettino’s ethos and transformation of Tottenham.
Dier could have undoubtedly been exiting Tottenham with much more of a heartfelt farewell and thanks had the seasons as of late not been so turbulent that it allowed Dier to be consistently playing at centre half, a position that he favours, but a position that was perhaps never his best.
Eric will now continue his career away from Tottenham as he settles into life at Bayern Munich alongside Tottenham legend, Harry Kane. Dier will perhaps have to start refamiliarizing himself with the holding midfield role as it’s reported Tuchel selected Dier for his abilities in defence and midfield (Mirror).
Perhaps Eric will be more willing to comprise when his minutes are few and far between. Oh, and a good chance of winning a Champions League is usually a decent sweetener too.
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