So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen Pienaar

Hardly a storyline you would relate with 'The Sound of Music,' but some Evertonians may feel aggrieved by Steven Pienaar's decision to leave the club, confirmed by the man himself on Twitter today.

Pienaar stated "To end speculation I am going to Spurs. I've had brilliant years at Everton and it will always be a special place in my heart."

This news won't come as a surprise to many Everton fans as today's events have seemed inevitable since Pienaar rejected a contract extension from the club six months ago.

The Toffees initially signed Pienaar on a one-year loan from Borussia Dortmund in July 2007, but the move was made permanent in April of 2008 as the South African international joined in a deal worth £2million.

Pienaar signed from Dortmund after failing to live up to the potential he exhibited in his earlier years with Ajax.

It would be fair to say that Pienaar has been hugely influential to the blues, offering outstanding work rate, craft and guile to Everton's left wing and aiding in the development of Leighton Baines, with whom he was formed a potent attacking partnership.

Just look at the statistics. Pienaar has played 104 league games for Everton, starting 100 showing his importance to David Moyes.

However many have questioned his goal scoring ability throughout his time at Everton, and with just nine league goals to his name, some fans may not see the loss of Pienaar as being hugely important, with his final product being seriously questionable.

On the other hand, most will point towards the effect he has had on the dramatic change in footballing style played by the blues, and more importantly the effect he has had on results.

His impact has been significant, demonstrated by the fact that in the previous two seasons, Everton have won 27 out of 57 (47.4%) matches when Pienaar has started, but only 6 out of 19 (31.6%) when he hasn't.

Pienaar scores what the majority of Evertonians will recall as his most important goal for the Toffees at the Emirates Stadium.

It does, however, seem that Pienaar's influence on the team has been less influential this season, coinciding with his failure to sign a new contract. With Pienaar starting, Everton have conjured up just two wins in 18 league matches (11.1%) as opposed to three wins in four matches (75%) when he has been absent from the starting line-up.

A large number of Evertonians will question whether his heart was really in it from the start of the season and the statistics do unfortunately reflect that notion.

Despite this, David Moyes has shown a dignified respect for Pienaar and everything he has done for Everton, saying "he has done very well for us on the pitch, so we have no complaints" ahead of his aforementioned transfer.

With the transfer of Pienaar finally coming to fruition, Everton have been linked with a series of names to replace him, most notably Blackpool's Charlie Adam, Inter Milan's Sulley Muntari and Burnley's Chris Eagles.

Finally, one deal that is rumoured to be near to completion is that of Eric Dier from Sporting Lisbon. Dier is an English centre-back raised in Portugal since he was seven years old, and at the age of 17 he represents a promising future talent.

Dier (circled) featured in England's kit launch as one of the faces of the future.