Tottenham Hotspur have plummeted into the ground after devastation struck against Chelsea in the Premier League at the start of November, with injuries and suspensions sustained in that match ravaging the unbeaten start to the campaign.
Ange Postecoglou took the helm in the summer and swiftly instilled confidence and cohesion after Spurs languished to an eighth-placed finish last year, resulting in the August sale of legendary talisman Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
But while the first team roared into action in the early phase, Tottenham's thinness has been brutally exposed recently, with Micky van de Ven and James Maddison out until the new year and Cristian Romero still suspended – this is not an exhaustive list of absentees.
Rodrigo Bentancur's recent return from an ACL injury has been timely, to say the least, but as Spurs squandered the lead to lose 2-1 to Aston Villa in London on Sunday afternoon, the Uruguayan midfielder was withdrawn with a concerning issue.
Rodrigo Bentacur's Tottenham career so far
Signed from Juventus for £21.5m in January 2022 – alongside Dejan Kulusevski, though the Swede completed an initial 18-month loan – Bentancur gelled with Antonio Conte's Tottenham team and played a key role in securing Champions League qualification, bagging four assists from 17 matches in the Premier League.
The 56-cap international switched assists for goals during the 2022/23 season and enjoyed immense success throughout the early stages, plundering five goals and two assists from just 18 matches from midfield, effusively described as a "Rolls-Royce" by football writer Tom Robinson.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Passing
Discipline
Blocking
Interceptions
Tackling
*Sourced via WhoScored
Complementing last year's goal return with an 85% pass success rate, 2.5 tackles and 1.2 clearances per game and success with 66% of his attempted dribbles, as per Sofascore, the multi-functional star had been a big miss and it's all the more impressive that Postecoglou stirred his side into life in Bentancur's absence.
His exciting campaign was indeed derailed in February when he ruptured his ACL against Leicester City; the £75k-per-week player has just returned and after four appearances, Matty Cash's rash challenge at the weekend has set the alarm bells ringing, with Postecoglou none too pleased amid a mountainous list of absentees.
Postecoglou said: "It’s his ankle, I think. It wasn’t a great tackle. I thought he started the game so well. That’s the last thing we need — another injury. We’ve got eight [players injured], Bentancur nine. We lost Ashley Phillips in the week as well. It’s just the situation we’re in at the minute."
Not good for the Lilywhites, especially after such a convincing start to the campaign, but this dip is circumstantial and it's important to remain sanguine given the situation, with the future very much bright.
But right now, a plan needs to be devised to steer through the forthcoming period – with a trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City up next – and with Pape Matar Sarr missing the Villa game with a muscular problem sustained on international duty, Spurs' Australian boss could be forced to turn to Eric Dier in the centre of the park.
Eric Dier's season in numbers
Dier, it's probably safe to say, hasn't really won Postecoglou over so far, having failed to make a single appearance across the Premier League and Carabao Cup before the torrent of turmoil against Chelsea forced his inclusion.
Last season, the 29-year-old England international played 42 times across all competitions and earned 33 starts in the league, though with Spurs shipping an embarrassing 63 goals, Dier was very much at the epicentre and was even branded a "liability" by reporter Mitch Fretton.
Signing from Sporting Lisbon for £4m in 2014, the Portuguese-speaking Englishman has chalked up 362 displays for his club and cemented himself as something of a stalwart, albeit receiving rebuke over recent years and currently out of contract at the end of the season.
This season, Dier did actually catch the eye off the bench against Chelsea, fighting hard as nine-man Tottenham valiantly attempted to stifle Chelsea, with football.london's Alasdair Gold handing him an 8/10 match score and writing that he was 'excellent on his return.'
While he hasn't had much match action this term – two appearances – Dier has completed 89% of his passes in the Premier League and averaging one tackle and four ball recoveries per game, also winning 100% of his ground duels so far.
Eric Dier could stand in in midfield
The £85k-per-week Lilywhite ranks among the top 11% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for aerial wins, the top 15% for blocks and the top 22% for assists per 90, as per FBref, highlighting some of the facets of his game that do deserve praise.
He's tenacious and industrious, albeit a little rigid in moments, and having been heralded for his flexibility in the past by former manager Mauricio Pochettino now would be a pretty good time to make good on such praise and prove that he can play a part for Postecoglou over the crucial forthcoming period.
The 6 foot 2 ace could be the answer in the centre of the park – in the short-term, at least – moving back to his old role and providing his skills as the central anchor.
While Pierre Emile Hojbjerg appears to be the more natural option to step into the midfield alongside the engine that is Yves Bissouma, the Dane is clearly not entrusted with a prominent role either and was noted for his 'mixed' bag when it came to his distribution after replacing Bentancur against Unai Emery's Villa, being handed a 6/10 match rating by the Evening Standard's Dan Kilpatrick.
Once dubbed "reliable" by Conte, Dier could now earn a chance to move up the field and shine for his outfit, providing a certain sturdiness to see things through over this testing winter period.