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Who will decide the futures of Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen?

By Barrett Rouen

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 02: Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur looks on during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Wembley Stadium on March 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 02: Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur looks on during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Wembley Stadium on March 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham are in the tough position this summer of being stuck in a place where they could not only lose one but two influential players for minimal fees.  Who are the people who factor into this?

Both Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen have the upper hand in their contract negotiations with Tottenham this summer. Alderweireld has an absurdly low minimum release clause in his contract given the quality of his play and his level of important to the team.  Christian Eriksen then has somehow managed to play out his contract and is now entering the all important last year during which he can agree to a pre-contract with a foreign club in the middle of the season and Tottenham would have to pay him a weekly wage to know they are losing him 6 months later.

Neither situation is good and though the team has plans to make several additions both players will be incredibly difficult to replace when the time comes.

In the situation surrounding Eriksen, Daniel Levy plays a big role in both the positive and negative aspects.  He should never have let Eriksen’s contract get to the point that it is now and a large part of the Danish playmakers hesitancy in signing a new contract has been down to the fact that Levy often takes too hard a line in salary negotiations with his players.

Though Danny Rose said it poorly he was right.  Tottenham players are often deeply underpaid in regards to their status in world football.  No one is arguing that footballers aren’t well compensated compared to the average person but in the lofty heights of professional athletics Tottenham players are usually given the short end of the stick by their own club financially and one can understand exactly how frustrating that is.

Eriksen has never asked for a move, he has never said that he wasn’t happy at the club.  All he ever wanted was to be paid the same or at least competitively with many of the players in his class who also play in Europe.  If you observe the salaries of Luka Modric, Miralem Pjanic or Kevin De Bruyne then you’ll see the difference.  That is why players leave to play at clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester City.  Their talent is literally valued higher.

Levy shouldn’t have let it get this far.  The other person though who is going to have a major effect in this situation is Zinedine Zidane. The French manager is in a newly strengthened position in Madrid and has said that Eriksen is one of the players he is most interested in.  The question is whether or not he will add him and Hazard at premium fees in the same year.

Zidane’s feeling on the issue and whether or not he is willing to wait will also be a major factor.

As for the situation regarding Toby Alderweireld that is something that lays entirely at the feet of Levy as well.  There’s not a single good reason why a minimum fee release clause should have been inserted in Alderweireld’s contract. He’s a very good player and will be missed terribly with his 25 million fee a practical discount in today’s market.