Tottenham Hotspur face a battle to hold on to one of their most prized-assets as the contract saga involving Christian Eriksen continues to drag on, with Barcelona reportedly monitoring the situation with interest.
According to the Daily Mail, Eriksen understandably wants parity with Tottenham's top earners as his current £70,000-a-week deal runs until the summer of 2020, while teammate Harry Kane is on £200,000-a-week and Dele Alli is taking home £150,000 each week until 2024.
The difference in pay is quite startling at this stage as Eriksen has arguably been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League in recent times and the statistics appear to support his claims for a wage increase.
The Dane has created 108 chances since the start of last season, which is the same amount as Kevin De Bruyne and more than Mesut Ozil (104). In comparison, Ozil is earning £300,000-a-week at Arsenal and De Bruyne is on £280,000 at Manchester City.
Eriksen's returns for Tottenham bear comparison with many of the midfielders from the top-six clubs in the country, with the 26-year-old playing a part in 22 goals since the start of the 2017/18 campaign, scoring ten goals in the process.
Manchester United's Paul Pogba has also scored or assisted 22 league goals and yet he is going home with £260,000 in his pocket each week.
Tottenham have long had a strict budget when it comes to contracts, although they smashed that policy to keep hold of Kane and Alli. They will need to do something similar to convince Eriksen that he has a future in North London, otherwise a cash-rich Barcelona could be ready to pounce for the £60m-rated midfielder.