Wherever Eric Dier has gone under Mauricio Pochettino, a replacement and improvement has consistently been sought. Signed in the summer of 2014, 20-year-old Dier turned heads due to his unorthodox route to the Premier League, which took him via the Sporting Lisbon youth team.

An unknown entity on these shores, it was a shock to see him thrown in at the deep end on the first day of the season, starting at centre-back away to West Ham.

Dier was moved to right-back after Kyle Naughton's sending off midway through the first half, and ended up scoring a 90th minute winner, running on to Harry Kane's through ball in a position you'd expect to find a left-winger, before rounding Adrian like a seasoned centre-forward and tapping home.

Just like his rise to English football's elite, Dier's debut was far from conventional. So, too has his ascendance been since.

He started 25 league games in his first season at Spurs; 11 at right-back and 14 in central defence. The team showed signs of improvement in Pochettino's first season, but ended the campaign fifth. Improvements were needed in the summer.