Phil Parkinson made his first addition to the Tigers midfield ranks when Dean was captured from Tottenham Hotspur for a club record six-figure undisclosed fee.

A product of academy system at Spurs, he signed pro forms in July 2002. Having struggled to establish an extended run due to the vast array of international talent available at White Hart Lane, a move away from his native London means the new City boss had recruited one of England's finest young middle line talents.

Dean made his senior debut in a nine-game loan stint at Division Two Swindon Town in the 2002-03 season before being called up for a surprise Premiership bow at the start of the 2003-04. Dean made his Spurs debut at Birmingham City, then made his home debut in the following game - a 2-1 win against Leeds United.

After further loan stints at Queens Park Rangers and Gillingham in 2004, Dean shot to prominence on New Year's Day 2005 when he scored twice in an outstanding display during a 5-2 win against Everton. It was his first appearance under Spurs manager Martin Jol and it prompted the Dutch coach to describe him as a 'complete player'.

A month later, Dean's progress was recognised by Tigers boss Peter Taylor when he was selected for the England Under-21 friendly against Holland at Derby.

With the latter half of 2004-05 having gone so well, 2005-06 promised much but it generally proved to be frustrating.

Injury cut short a promising loan spell at our Championship rivals Norwich City after he had played 15 times for the Canaries.

After recovering from the injury, Dean failed to add to his 11 senior Spurs appearances (including eight in the Premiership) but he did make eight further appearances for Tottenham's reserves to help them secure the Barclays Premiership Reserve League South title.

After Dean agreed his three-year deal with the Tigers, manager Phil Parkinson reviewed his qualities: "Dean offers the ability to get from box to box quickly through that central midfield area.

"I've seen Dean play plenty of times and he will give us some power from midfield. We need someone in the middle of midfield who will get forward and score some goals."

After a difficult first few months in East Yorkshire, Dean did much to set the Tigers season in the right direction with vital goals in the December home wins against Cardiff City and Burnley.