Tony Cascarino has said that Mauricio Pochettino should keep Christian Eriksen out of the Spurs squad until his future is sorted.
Eriksen was named on the bench for the second time in three games this season, with speculation still ongoing about whether he’ll leave in this transfer window.
He came on after 62 minutes in the game against Newcastle but couldn’t affect the same change he did in the opening game of the season against Aston Villa.
Writing in the Times, Cascarino thinks that Pochettino must drop him from the squad completely as naming him on the bench sends out a bad message.
“The situation with Christian Eriksen must be troubling for the squad,” Cascarino wrote.
“If Mauricio Pochettino thinks he’s really going to lose his star player, then keep him away from the squad.
“Having him on the bench sends the wrong message to his starting XI that they’re not good enough.
“I know he came off the bench to change the game against Aston Villa on the opening weekend but until his future is sorted Eriksen shouldn’t be around on match days, no matter how good he is.”
Going or staying?
No one knows and that’s definitely unsettling for the squad.
Talking after the game, Pochettino said he “doesn’t know” if Eriksen has played his last game for the club and admitted, “It’s not an easy situation. We know this can unsettle the group but we know in 10 days it will finish.” [BBC]
The problem for Pochettino is that he’s said Eriksen’s potential replacement, Giovani Lo Celso, is still not ready to play regularly.
Talking to Sky Sports he said Lo Celso didn’t really have a pre-season after his Copa America exploits and still needs time.
Should Eriksen be dropped from the squad? He came on against Aston Villa and transformed the game when Tottenham were 1-0 down.
It would be harsh to blame Eriksen for not turning the game around on Sunday. Newcastle were well drilled and disciplined.
Lucas Moura and Harry Kane missed the best chances of the game and, for us, while Eriksen is still a Spurs player, he should be picked on merit.