Darren Bent believes that Christian Eriksen will be able to leave Tottenham Hotspur on good terms with supporters given the service he has provided to the club over the past six seasons.
Eriksen revealed to the Danish media earlier this week that he would like to leave North London this summer in order to pursue a new challenge, with a move to Real Madrid being a destination of interest to the 27-year-old (Ekstra Bladet).
The playmaker joined Spurs in 2013 from Ajax and has been instrumental under Mauricio Pochettino’s revolution at the club having guided his side to four successive top four finishes in the Premier League.
Eriksen’s creativity will be a big loss in the final third of the pitch having been directly involved in 146 goals (66 goals / 80 assists) in his time at Tottenham. Trying to fill the void of an average of 13.3 assists per season will have to be a key priority for Pochettino.
Bent, who played for Spurs between 2007 and 2009 has claimed that Spurs fans will let Eriksen depart with no hard feelings.
He told Sky Sports: “No Spurs fan will look at Eriksen and give him any stick because he’s been loyal to them and given them great service,” Bent told Sky Sports News. “The fans will let him go with open arms.
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“He’d be a big loss but he’d fit the mould for Real Madrid really well.
“I don’t know how much they are planning on spending because they’ve already spent £200m and they’d have to spend another £80-100m to get Eriksen.
“He kind of put it out there that he’d like to leave to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona, but if he has to stay he will because of the backlash from the fans.
“He’s 27 and he probably thinks that now is the right time to go.”
“It’s not going to be a foregone conclusion that he’ll leave Spurs, because I know how they operate, and if it doesn’t make sense for the football club then he won’t be going anywhere,” Bent added.
“It’s a catch-22. As a manager, you want to keep your best players at the football club but you’ve got to look ahead as well.”
Opinion
Spurs fans will certainly appreciate the service which Eriksen has given over the past seasons, yet it is disappointing to hear a player wants to leave when we are on the verge of competing for trophies on a regular basis providing we make a few key signings.
As long as he does not go on strike or refuse to train during pre-season if a move fails to materialise in the ilk that Bale and Modric threatened, then he will be fondly remembered.
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