Christian Eriksen confirms he wants to leave Tottenham

Speculation has turned into confirmation, with Christian Eriksen saying he’s ready “to try something new”, meaning an almost imminent exodus from Tottenham.

Purchased from Ajax in 2013 for a paltry £11 million, Eriksen has morphed into one of Europe’s most valuable players. His creative genius and ability to find an improbable pass is second to none. His knack for popping up with a late winner often flies under the radar, but there is no shortage of profound evidence to support the Dane’s last-gasp heroics.

Does his late winner last season away to Crystal Palace ring a bell, or how about his goal at Wembley against Inter with 10 minutes to go in a must-win Champions League group game?

If you can’t recall those, what about his decisive goal against Brighton in the 88th minute, ensuring victory against the relegation-threatened side?

He also scored a stoppage-time winner against Burnley in December at Wembley.

Remember, Tottenham only finished a point ahead of Arsenal for fourth place and a guaranteed berth in the 2019-20 Champions League. Without the great Dane we might next season be facing the ominous proposition of going to places like Baku for Europa League contests.

Here’s what Eriksen said about his future to Danish publication Ekstra Bladet:

"“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.“Real Madrid is a step up but then it would take Real Madrid picking up the phone and making contact with Tottenham and say that they want Christian. And that they haven’t done as far as I know. It all depends on Daniel Levy and there has to be another club too. Or I will sit down myself at the table and negotiate a new contract. You can’t set a date yourself. There aren’t many boxes that Tottenham don’t tick so if I have to move away, it would have to be a step up.”"

Make no mistake that Tottenham are going to cash in on their superstar, which is looking more likely by the day. Daniel Levy has placed an astronomical £130 million fee on the Dane’s head. If Real Madrid wants him, they’re going to have to fork out lorry loads of cash to land their target. Don’t expect Levy to sell him for anything less than £100 million.

With four straight seasons of at least 10 assists, the dashing Dane has impacted Tottenham immeasurably since joining in 2013.

He has taken some unfair stick from some certain clusters of supporters this season, but Eriksen deserves total adoration from Tottenham faithful. I shudder to think where we’d be without our deft Dane directing midfield proceedings.

The major knock on Eriksen is his inability to showcase his abundant talent in the most pivotal matches, against tougher opponents. It’s a point that has merit, as he has a tendency, at times, to fade into the background on the big occasion.

Losing Eriksen would create an irreplaceable chasm in Spurs’ midfield. Pochettino, though, is hot on the heels of Lo Celso, whose expected £60 – £70 million transfer fee pales in comparison to the expected fee for their 27-year-old Danish maestro.

Landing Lo Celso wouldn’t cure the void felt by losing Eriksen, but it would certainly alleviate some of the debilitating symptoms.

Eriksen has made his choice.

At this point, all we can do is cash in and wish him well. Anything else, like trying to hold on to him against his will, would only be detrimental to the club.

It’s time to move on and look forward, but make no mistake, the dashing Dane will forever be lauded in north London, welcomed back with open arms whenever he returns to N17.