Tottenham Should Not Look to Resign Former Star Eriksen

Rumors have been circulating the internet about Christian Eriksen going back from Inter Milan to Tottenham Hotspur, this is one reunion where Spurs should pass.

There is a report out from Football Insider, which everyone seems to be jumping on linking Christian Eriksen back with Tottenham Hotspur. The same Christian Eriksen who less than one year ago left Spurs for greener pastures. While one prodigal son came home for Tottenham this past summer in Gareth Bale this is a different situation, and one which Tottenham should ignore as a reunion is likely not in the club’s best interest.

Christian Eriksen’s leaving of Tottenham was quite different than was Gareth Bale’s departure and for that and a few other reasons, Christian Eriksen should not be brought back.

Eriksen Lost the Leverage

In the aftermath of disappointing events people say dumb things but later recant. In the aftermath of the Champions League Final loss to Liverpool in 2019, Christian Eriksen told the media he was ready to leave telling a Danish outlet he “would like to try something new”.  In the business world of professional sports, a message like that, coming from a star set for a bumper raise, on a team that just made the Champions League Finals sends up warning flags all around.

Whether the issue is at the club itself or with the player, there is something going on and teams took notice. While, Eriksen later told the BBC he felt like a “black sheep” for making the statement, the reality is that he gave away any leverage and bargaining tools either he or the club had to make a transfer possible.

A player on the last year of their deal, who has said they are not going to renew is never going to get a big bid from a big team. Big teams like Madrid see a situation like that and believe they can wait. Why should they pay money for something that will come free in a few months? Of course, Tottenham is a business too and Daniel Levy wanted some cash return on his investment and it was clear in All or Nothing Eriksen had no interest in staying.

Regardless of how little time was left on Eriksen’s contract, at the time he was valued at nearly $100 million and Levy was going to get something back. Given the fact that big teams do not cave to demands and Levy was going to extract something for Eriksen, any chance of playing at Madrid disappeared the moment Eriksen opened his mouth and said he wanted to leave.

Had Eriksen said nothing publicly and only to the club, things could have turned out quite differently in terms of the return to Tottenham, which was only $29.7 million US, and the destination of Inter Milan. While Inter is a fine club, it is debatable how much of a “step up” from Tottenham Inter is, given their greatest coach for their greatest moment now works in north London, were Eriksen left.