OPINION
The speculation around the future of Christian Eriksen is having a negative effect on Tottenham’s season.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has said his squad is the most unsettled it’s been in the five years since he arrived at the club [Football London] and Eriksen has only started one of three Premier League games this season.
The creative force of the Spurs side could still leave before the European transfer window shuts on Monday but it’s looking increasingly likely that he will stay after neither of his preferred clubs, Real Madrid or Barcelona, have come through with offers [Daily Mail].
And a worrying report in the Guardian has painted a pretty bleak picture of a u-turn from Eriksen stating that Daniel Levy and the midfielder’s agent Martin Schoots haven’t talked “for some time” and that the relationship between the two has suffered a “breakdown”.
Poch must avoid worst-case scenario
The worst-case scenario for Tottenham is that an unsettled Eriksen stays on the periphery of the Tottenham first team while his contract runs down.
He can agree a pre-contract deal with an overseas club in January ahead of a free transfer the following summer and if Levy and Schoots aren’t talking, that looks increasingly likely.
Pochettino has previous here, having used Toby Alderweireld sparingly at the end of the 17/18 season with the player’s future in doubt.
Pochettino had claimed at the time that he was leaving Alderweireld out for fitness reasons before Belgium manager Roberto Martinez stated the player was “fully fit”. Pochettino then said he was being left out on merit but his form when he did play belied that.
If Eriksen is going to stay then Pochettino must try and re-integrate him into the squad as soon as possible.
If his attitude is good enough for him to start on the bench, it should be good enough to start him on the pitch. Each time Eriksen is benched, speculation will build and that’s not good for Tottenham’s season.
Pochettino is ruthless when he needs to be but this is a battle that could end up damaging his side’s 19/20 campaign irreparably.