Stats 04 July 2025, 18:09

Accuracy, clearances, headers… The stats you need to know about Eric Dier

Presented to the press last Thursday, AS Monaco's new English central defender has the profile of a modern defender, comfortable with the ball at his feet and strong in aerial duels, as proven by the figures highlighted by Opta.

He arrived at the foot of the Rock with a wealth of experience, having played 475 matches, including 365 with Tottenham. Arriving on a free from Bayern Munich and presnted to the press on Thursday, Eric Dier has a versatile profile as a defender. So before his debut with the Rouge et Blanc, let’s take a look at the key stats to keep in mind thanks to our partner Opta.📊

Eric Dier présenté à la presse 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/NPL0YJ3M7v

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) July 3, 2025

Precision Mode On 🎯

If the England international has the profile of a modern defender, his ability on the ball has a lot to do with it! Having arrived from Bayern Munich, the Cheltenham native was quite simply the most accurate passing player in the Bavarian squad last season (94.15%). This performance even earned him an eighth-place finish in the top 10 best defenders in the top five leagues, alongside Marquinhos and Manuel Akanji.

Eric will bring us a lot of solutions on the pitch, both with and without the ball. He will help us progress in terms of experience; he is capable of building play, especially against low blocks. He has maturity, personality, and qualities that are important to us.

Thiago ScuroOn the profile of Eric Dier

While he proved highly adept, he also used his technical prowess to serve the Bavarian attacking players. Of the 796 passes he attempted towards the opposing half, 736 were successful, a success rate of 92.46%, according to Opta. This is an additional asset in his game that places him in the top 5 in Europe in this area.

Little wasteful play in his game 🏃

Accurate passing is accompanied by a confident touch on the ball. The English central defender was the Munich player with the fewest turnovers on average, ahead of his French colleague Dayot Upamecano (5.99 versus 6.89). Trained to play in central defence, he nevertheless alternated into a defensive midfield role on several occasions, notably during his ten years with Tottenham.

Defensive Assurance ⛔

But it was as a central defender that he played during his 18 months in Bavaria, playing 54% of his minutes as a left-sided centre back, compared to 41% on the right. He plays a position he excels at, having made the second most defensive clearances last season behind Kim Min-jae, who played twice as many minutes. This significant presence allowed Munich to concede only 21 goals in the Englishman’s 20 starts.

Combative on the ground and in the air 🪖

A combative player on the pitch, as evidenced by his spectacular block against Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinals, he is just as effective in aerial duels. According to data collected by Opta, the English defender made the most aerial duels last season at Bayern (around 5.4 per game, the second highest success rate).

Le Bayern a peut-être été éliminé par l'Inter mais ce sauvetage d'Eric Dier mérite d'être souligné 🥵#INTBAY | #UCL pic.twitter.com/ufnIQnyMaq

— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) April 16, 2025

It’s a real strength, and one that notably allowed him to score three headed goals from corners. Another asset in a season where the Rouge et Blanc have been very efficient, scoring 11 goals following a corner, and which he will perhaps be able to put to use next Friday for the first friendly match against Cercle Bruges (6:30 p.m.).