Eric Dier

Eric Dier is an English footballer, born on 15th January 1994 in Cheltenham, England. Dier is primarily a central defensive midfielder but has also played as a centre back or as a right back. Dier prefers his right foot while playing. He currently plays for the English football club, Tottenham Hotspur FC.

Background

Eric Dier moved to Portugal at a young age so that his mother could work at Euro 2004. Dier stayed back in Portugal even when his family returned.

Dier joined the Sporting Lisbon academy and made through different age groups at the club. He was loaned out to Everton in 2011 and played for the U18 side of the English club ten times during the season. He won the 2010-11 U18 Premier League with the club.

Dier returned to Sporting the following season and made his professional debut for the club in a home win against Braga.

Debut

Dier was called up to the England national team for the first time by manager Roy Hodgson in 2015. He made his debut in an international friendly against Spain which England lost 0-2.

Dier scored his first goal for his country against Germany in a 3-2 win.

Rise to Glory

Dier’s rise to glory came after he moved back to his home country. He became an indispensable player in the Spurs eleven. Dier scored his first goal for his new club in a 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers. He played in 32 matches in his debut season for the London club. It included a starting eleven spot in Spurs’ League Cup final match against Chelsea which they lost.

Dier’s impressive first season was rewarded with a new contract keeping him at White Hart Line till 2020. He partnered Moussa Dembele as the defensive midfielders and helped their side make a league title challenge. Dier scored his side’s first goal of the season when he scored in a 2-2 draw over Stoke City.

Dier was rewarded with an improved five-year contract at the end of the 2015-16 season. He appeared in 41 games for Tottenham the following season. Dier had to play as a centre-back for large parts of the season due to the acquisition of Victor Wanyama and injuries to fellow centre-backs. He made his UEFA Champions League debut in the season and ended the season with a Premier League runners-up medal.

Dier averaged the second highest number of passes made per game for Spurs in the 2015-16 season. He had a successful pass percentage of 86.7 in the season.

Low Points

Although Dier is an integral member for both his country and club, he has often made costly errors. One such error against Liverpool in the 2017-18 season cost his side the game.

Club Career

Dier made his professional debut for Sporting Lisbon in the 2012-13 season. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 2014-15 season after they activated a £5 million release clause in his contract.

Captaincy

Dier captained Spurs for the first time on 25th October 2016 when his side faced Liverpool in the EFL Cup. Spurs lost the game 2-1. Since then, he has captained his club sporadically in the absence of regular captain Hugo Lloris.

On 10th November 2017, Dier captained England for the first time in an international friendly against Germany at the Wembley Stadium which ended in a goalless draw. He captained again in the friendly against Brazil, a few days later.

Since then, Dier has emerged as one of the prime candidates to lead the side in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.