Real Madrid are in a strong position to sign Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen because the Dane has chairman Daniel Levy over a barrel, according to AS.
The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season, and his unwillingness to sign a new deal puts Spurs in a tricky predicament.
Should they fail to reach an agreement with their talisman, the club could be forced to sell him this summer to avoid losing him on a free next year, and according to the report, that puts Real in a strong position to land him for a reasonable fee.
OPINION
This would be an absolute disaster for Tottenham. Eriksen is the creative heartbeat of this side. It might be Harry Kane and Son Heung-min who provide the goals, but it is usually Eriksen setting them up, and losing him on a cut price deal would be terrible. The obvious hope will be that the club can persuade him to stay, but he wouldn’t be human if he wasn’t tempted by the allure of a move to Real Madrid. That kind of opportunity comes around once in a career maybe, and who can you expect a player of his quality to just flat out refuse a switch to one of the biggest clubs in footballing history? This is a real catch 22 for Spurs. They won’t want to lose Eriksen at all, but surely it would be better to get something for him rather than nothing. Funds will be tight for the foreseeable future, and if they lose a player of his calibre for nothing, it’s hard to see where the money would come from to find a suitable replacement.