Christian Eriksen in limbo as Real Madrid and Juventus circle Paul PogbaChristian Eriksen faces being left in limbo over his desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur while Paul Pogba tries to force his way out of Manchester United with Real Madrid and Juventus interested in both players.But Real are thought to be reluctant to pay more than £70 million for Eriksen if they miss out on Pogba.
Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, told interested English rivals that he wants a deal worth £130m for Eriksen and is believed to be demanding at least £80m from overseas clubs.That is more than Real want to pay for Eriksen with one year remaining on his contract, but the 27-year-old is likely to have to wait to find out what happens with Pogba before being given any definitive answers on his own future.
Pogba is the first-choice of Real coach Zinedine Zidane, but the Spanish club need to raise cash to make any more new signings after signing Eden Hazard in a deal worth up to £130m.
Florentino Pérez, the Real president, is an admirer of Eriksen who he sees as a cheaper alternative to Pogba, while former Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri, who has taken over at Juventus, is a big fan of the midfielder.Sarri picked out Eriksen as his favourite Spurs player while he was in charge at Stamford Bridge and would jump at the chance to work with him at Juventus if they cannot re-sign Pogba.
Asked in November to name his favourite Tottenham player, Sarri said: “Of course Harry Kane is the best English striker in the moment, so a very important player. But if I have to say another name I like very much, Eriksen.
“He is a very smart player, a very technical player. He’s able to play in midfield and, at the same moment, score eight or nine goals in a season. I think that he is a very important player. I like him very much but I don’t want to talk about a player of Tottenham in terms of the market. I only answered a question.”
Eriksen has made it clear that he is ready for a new challenge, but has also not discounted staying at Tottenham and the club have not yet fully resigned themselves to losing him.
What happens over Eriksen’s future could have a major bearing on Tottenham’s summer with the club needing to raise funds of their own if they are going to sign all of manager Mauricio Pochettino’s top targets.
Pochettino has identified Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombélé, Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo, Ajax’s Donny van de Beek and Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon as four of his main priorities.Bourneouth’s Nathan Aké is also a potential target if Toby Alderwiereld leaves Spurs this summer.
Eriksen said: “I feel that I am at a stage of my career where I would like to try something new.
“I have the deepest respect for everything that is happening at Tottenham and it would not be something negative to stay. But I have also said that I would like to try something new.
“I hope that something will be decided this summer. That is the plan. In football you never know when there could be a decision like that. It could be at any point. The best thing is always for it to happen quickly, but in football things take time.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/06/17/christian-eriksen-limbo-real-madrid-juventus-circle-paul-pogba/
