Whilst most are considering the 2018/19 Premier League season to be a two-horse race between Liverpool and Manchester City, Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham Hotspur are doing extremely admirably in keeping themselves part of the conversation.
Spurs - in third in the table - are five points behind league leaders City, which they can reduce back to just two with victory at Wembley Stadium against Leicester City on Sunday before the Blues take on Chelsea at the Etihad.
The North London club’s respectable campaign however is being undermined by the uncertainty of one of their stars’ apparent reluctance to extend his time at the club.
Football.London takes comments made by ‘transfer expert’ Ian McGarrry on The Transfer Window Podcast to speculate that Christian Eriksen’s time with Tottenham may be coming to an end;
"He has 17 months left on his contract and has already rejected three different contract upgrade offers from Tottenham," McGarry said.
Christian Eriksen has been at Spurs since 2013 when he was bought for the relatively meagre fee of £11million from Ajax. He last signed a contract extension with the club in 2016.
"I think he is - and Spurs fans won't thank me for this - above their level and could play easily for any of the biggest clubs in the world.”
Eriksen’s current contract with Spurs expires in 2020, with are host of clubs said the watching the situation with great interest; including that most ominous of figures stepping out of the shadows, Real Madrid. The Lilywhites have seen Luka Modric and Gareth Bale depart to the Spanish capital when Los Blancos come calling in recent times.
La Liga giants Barcelona also remain in the frame, and 13-time Premier League champions Manchester United reported as being favourites to land his signature just last month (The Sun).
"He's already turned down £110,000 [a week] from Tottenham," added McGarry. "I think he'd be looking at between £150,000 and £200,000 [a week], which in the current market I'd say he is worth every penny.”
Currently Eriksen is said to be on a salary of £75,000. The 26-year-old has made over 250 appearances for Tottenham, producing a remarkable 62 goals and 79 assists. Silverware, however, has remained elusive.
