Christian Eriksen wasted no time in informing the world that he was keen to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer when he spoke to the Danish media just days after the Champions League final loss to Liverpool (Ekstra Bladet).
The 27-year-old cited the fact that he wanted to try something new as his main motivation for leaving whilst also inviting interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
With just under twelve months to run on his contract in North London, Spurs run the risk of the Dane leaving the club for free at the end of the current campaign.
Former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes that the club must look to sell Eriksen before the European window closes if he will not commit to signing a new contract extension.
If Eriksen were to leave the club for free, it would see Daniel Levy miss out on a substantial transfer fee which is something that Robinson has urged the club to avoid.
“I’d be surprised if they do keep hold of him due to the fact that he still hasn’t signed his contract that he has been offered,” Robinson told Wednesday’s Football Centre on Sky Sports News.
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“He’s made noises that he is ready for a new challenge. He’s been at the club now for six years now and the fact that he hasn’t signed a new contract going into his final year – I think it does have an effect on the team.
“I think it does have an effect on the players around him and I think genuinely if he did want to stay and his heart was there he would have signed it by now.
“The chairman has obviously put a price tag on his head [and] they have to get value for money. If he’s not going to sign a contract then they have to cash in.”
He added: “The problem you have got is that the player clearly wants a new challenge, and if the window closes and he’s still at your club, you have then got to motivate that player until his new challenge arrives either at the end of the season, or in January, or whenever that may be.
“As a manager, you’ve then got a player who didn’t want to be around, so you’ve got to motivate that player and get him back on board and buy into what you are doing for the next 12 months.”
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