Tottenham Hotspur are living in dreamland at this moment in time, enjoying the refreshing leadership of Ange Postecoglou, and a bright start to the Premier League campaign.
The feelgood factor has well and truly returned to the north London outfit, with pundit Jamie O'Hara emphasising such a notion: "I'm loving big Ange, I really am. I've been through a long time of digging Spurs out and, you know, I think a lot of the moments have probably been deserved. We've been in a bad run of form in the last couple of seasons, last season was an absolute shambles.
"We've been digging out managers, Conte, Mourinho, Nuno, with the football we've been playing, and big Ange has just come in and he's just been a breath of fresh air. I love the way he talks, I love the way he sets the team up, I just love the way that we're playing now as a football club."
Trailing only Manchester City in the table, and unbeaten after four games, fans have every reason to laud the work of the intelligent Australian who will hope to continue such fine form, much of which can be attributed to his summer of vast overhaul. It it perhaps surprising, however, given they lost Harry Kane.
The transfers were shrewd and the training has clearly already paid off, but there remains one figure that is lingering at the club, who many would argue has no place being there.
Who should Spurs have sold last summer?
Whilst the window was largely overshadowed by big-money acquisitions of Micky van de Ven, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson, it also marked an important clear-out to balance the books and expel much of the dead wood from N17.
The likes of Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele, Davinson Sanchez and more were all shown the exit door in unexpectedly cut-throat fashion, and yet somehow Eric Dier survived the mass exodus.
Having been at the club for nine years now, the England international remains a wholly polarising figure in north London, with support slowly gravitating towards pushing for his departure.
Defensively lacking and not quite technical enough to compete in the modern-day midfield, it almost feels like the club has outgrown the 29-year-old, who came under scrutiny last year during what was a torrid campaign.
It was O'Hara again who sought to emphasise such a point only a few weeks ago, speaking to Sky Sports News: "I don't think he should be starting for Tottenham. His time is up at Tottenham, if I am honest. I don't think he's good enough to play for Tottenham.
"He has been at the club a long time and he has been a loyal servant. But he just isn't good enough. Tottenham needs to move on. This is the future now."
Eric Dier's statistics in the Premier League
Games
Goals
Tackles per game
Clearances per game
Pass Accuracy %
2022/23 season
33
2
0.9
3.3
86%
2021/22 season
35
0
0.4
4.0
88%
All stats via Sofascore
Given he would only muster a 6.86 average rating across his 32 league appearances last term, Dier's displays do support such a claim, which is exacerbated through his one error that led to a shot, one error that led to a goal, and consistent presence in a backline that shipped 63 goals in 38 games, per Sofascore.
Despite his rapid drop-off in form, as the former Sporting CP star has failed to adapt to the ever-changing atmosphere at the club, he has been a reliable ace at points during a career that has spanned 360 appearances for the Lilywhites.
How much was Eric Dier worth at Sporting CP?
The 49-cap star kickstarted his career in Portugal, even enjoying a brief loan spell with Everton during his academy days, and did enough to merit interest from some big clubs.
With combative displays but a raw technical skillset that still needed refining, Mauricio Pochettino saw fit to take a risk on the central midfielder back in 2014.
Such was his lack of notoriety, Transfermarkt would only value the versatile stopper at €3.5m (£3m). Unsurprisingly, this is a figure that has soared.
How much did Spurs sign Eric Dier for?
Despite that valuation, it took just £4m for the Lions to part ways with their English star, sanctioning his exit as Pochettino sought to usher in his new revolution.
The Argentine's first summer in charge brought across players such as Ben Davies, Michel Vorm, Federico Fazio and more, but whilst few of these would make much of an impact, Dier admittedly did.
The pinnacle of his value was reached in 2018, when he was a mainstay under a hugely successful regime that had turned them into a genuine threat for elite honours, as well as Champions League mainstays. As such, a €40m (£34.3m) figure was instead placed upon his head.
What is Eric Dier's market value now?
With age and declining influence taking its toll, unsurprisingly his worth has dropped rather dramatically.
After all, the widespread criticism he continues to receive was bound to have some effect on Spurs' number 15, with his performances and valuation suffering.
Despite that, it is still a figure worth celebrating, as at €18m (£15.5m) he has seen a 416% rise from that initial acquisition. Putting aside recent struggles, few can argue that Dier's signing has not marked phenomenal value for money.
Why is Eric Dier worth that much?
There are positives to having a player of such experience and know-how within a squad, even if he is likely not quite at the level that Postecoglou will seek to take his new side.
After all, Gareth Southgate still remains a big fan of his, praising the Cheltenham-born bruiser back in 2022:
"With Eric Dier, he has been playing well for a period of time. We think it is a really close call across our centre-backs and he has deserved to be picked back in the group. We know what a good character he is. He fits in with the culture and has great international experience and leadership qualities."
However, such a sharp drop in value is to be expected when, in the words of writer Alex Mitton: "Dier doesn’t start for any other Big 6 side by the way. A liability."
How much does Eric Dier earn?
What makes Dier's continued presence at the club somewhat frustrating is his lofty wage, with the 6 foot 2 titan continuing to drain the Lilywhites of £85k-per-week.
To compare this with some of his peers, and somehow he has managed to snag a contract earning more than the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Guglielmo Vicario, via Capology.
Given there were reportedly numerous suitors interested in taking Dier off their hands last summer, perhaps this marked a rare Postecoglou error, given they could have cashed in on him before that aforementioned valuation and percentage increase begins to drop even further.
