Tottenham rattled as Christian Eriksen hints at Barcelona move
By Ryan Wrenn
With barely a month before the summer transfer window opens, Tottenham are increasingly subject to rumors of incoming and outgoing players.
Much of the latter surround the likely departure of Kyle Walker, though Tottenham fans briefly reckoned with a much graver threat to the team: Christian Eriksen possibly leaving for Barcelona.
To be clear, no concrete offers exist according to reports, nor does it seem as if Barca scouts are peering through the fences at Enfield.
What did happen, though, is that Eriksen was simultaneously frank and cryptic in an interview with Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet in regard to his future ambitions.
"“Barcelona is a fantastic club — I don’t think there a lot of players who would say no to Barcelona.“But there is ‘interest’ and then there is concrete interest. Until there is some concrete interest, I don’t have an opinion about it.”"
No reasonable player would balk at a chance to play at such a massive and storied club as Barcelona. Even the most diehard Spurs fan must admit that. That Eriksen brought up the possibility of the move itself is intriguing, but it’s best to ingest that quote within the full context of what the Dane said.
"In the future I see myself at the highest level. That’s what I dream about. That could be in two to three years.“It could be at a different club or it could be at Tottenham, if we have got all the way to that level.”"
Eriksen, not unreasonably, sees himself as elite, or at the very least possessing the potential for elite status. With the 25-year-old entering his peak years as a player, it’s perfectly understandable that he wants to spend them at the highest level.
He concedes though that Tottenham might reach that level. With all the progress made under Mauricio Pochettino in the three years that he took over, that is a very distinct possibility — especially after the club move into their new home.
Eriksen signed a new contract this season that keeps him signed at the club until 2020. Such contracts are rarely worth much beyond ensuring a pay raise for the player though, and Barcelona’s pockets are significantly deeper than Spurs, and will be for the foreseeable future.
That Eriksen would namedrop Barca, and that so many fans and outlets out there — including us — would make such a big deal about it speaks to the strange space Spurs find themselves.
With two title challenges in as many seasons, it’s no longer fair to label Tottenham the “best of the rest”. They are digging in to be perennial members of the Premier League’s top four and thus regular participants in the Champions League.
At the same time, though, the club’s finances are directing heavily toward building their new stadium on the site of the old White Hart Lane. Until that work is done and those loans repaid, each and every pound Spurs commit to players and the transfer market need to be stretched to the limit. There is no move for excess, or for spoiling even their best players.
This reality already produced one likely casualty in the form of Walker, and might strike again soon. Many more players will be tempted with the money that clubs like Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Barca can offer.
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Spurs’ best weapon against any such exodus is the story Pochettino is crafting at the club. Eriksen’s casual admittance that Tottenham itself might be elite in the near future is proof enough of the effectiveness of the Argentine’s message. He’s sold his methods and his vision to this squad, convincing many of them to sign new contracts even at below-market rates.
Much of the success of that message leans on just how much Spurs can maintain or improve their form over next season and beyond. For now though, it’s safe to assume that Tottenham continue to earn the players’ loyalty.