The key issue holding up Christian Eriksen’s January Spurs return
Last Updated: January 17, 2021 2:15 pm
Inter struggles
Danish international Eriksen of course brought his 7-year Spurs spell to an end last January.
After coming to the decision not to renew his expiring contract with the north Londoners, the 28-year-old made the move to Serie A giants Inter Milan, in a cut-price deal.
At the time, Eriksen’s addition was understandably viewed as quite a coup for Inter, with the Dane having long stood as one of the Premier League’s most productive midfielders.
To say that his time at the San Siro has since not gone according to plan, though, would be putting it lightly.
Eriksen has majorly struggled to win over the ever-bullish Antonio Conte.
As things stand, the likes of Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Stefano Sensi and summer arrival Arturo Vidal all sit ahead of the former Ajax man in the pecking order of the Nerazzurri boss.
MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 29: Christian Eriksen of FC Internazionale looks on during the Coppa Italia Quarter Final match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at San Siro on January 29, 2020 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
When handed the opportunity to impress, meanwhile, Eriksen has not exactly done so, either, with the 28-year-old, across 14 appearances to this point in the campaign, having failed to directly contribute to a single goal.
Spurs return?
As such, as Eriksen’s time in Milan inches towards its one-year anniversary, murmurs have inevitably begun to spread in the media that Inter could simply attempt to cut their losses during the January window.
Such suggestions, meanwhile, were not at all tempered late last year, when Nerazzurri CEO Beppe Marotta explained:
‘If he doesn’t play until January, it’s almost sure that he’ll ask to leave the club. We decided to sign him from Tottenham one year ago for €20m. It was a good deal – possibly he’s not fit with our way of playing.’
In turn, a host of clubs have been tipped as potential landing spots for Eriksen, with a shock return to north London, albeit with Arsenal, having even been pedalled by some outlets.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 28: Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after he scores his sides first goal during the UEFA Champions League Group B match between Tottenham Hotspur and FC Internazionale at Wembley Stadium on November 28, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
As outlined above, however, if the latest word stemming from the media this weekend is to be believed, then a reunion with former club Tottenham, in fact, cannot be ruled out.
An update on Eriksen’s situation has been provided by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
And the Italian has confirmed that Jose Mourinho ‘would like’ to coax the Dane back to the club this month, albeit on loan.
This, in turn, would of course open the door for Dele Alli to move on.
Eriksen himself, meanwhile, is also said to be keen on a return to the Premier League.
The one stumbling block in any potential deal involving Spurs, however, comes in the form of their former midfielder’s wage demands.
Eriksen currently earns a whopping €7.5 million-pear-season (after tax) in Italy, a sum which the board at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium would likely be required to cover the remainder of over the course of the 2nd-half of the campaign.
As such, though the Dane’s representative remains hard at work in his efforts to secure a transfer for his client, as things stand, talks with the Lilywhites have not yet progressed beyond a preliminary stage:
The agent of Eriksen is now working to find a solution. 🇩🇰
Re Tottenham: Mourinho would like to have him back at Spurs on loan, but his salary [€7,5m/season after taxes] is the main issue – no advanced talks yet with #thfc. Eriksen hopes to come back in Premier League.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 15, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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Tottenham vs Crystal Palace odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Tottenham vs Crystal Palace Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 5/2 | 11/8 |
| Crystal Palace | 11/1 | 9/1 |
| Draw | 5/1 | 10/1 |
| Tottenham vs Crystal Palace Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Kane | 11/10 | 11/10 | 4/7 |
| Heung-Min Son | 7/4 | 7/4 | 10/11 |
| Carlos Vinicius | 2/1 | 2/1 | 21/20 |
| Gareth Bale | 3/1 | 3/1 | 8/5 |
| Dele Alli | 10/3 | 10/3 | 7/4 |
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 27 | 39 | 65 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 27 | 21 | 51 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 27 | 15 | 50 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 27 | 17 | 47 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 26 | 6 | 46 |
| 6 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 7 | Liverpool FC | 27 | 12 | 43 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 26 | 15 | 42 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 25 | 11 | 39 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 26 | 7 | 37 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 27 | -9 | 34 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 27 | -14 | 34 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 26 | -13 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 27 | -16 | 29 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 26 | -7 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 26 | -17 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 27 | -12 | 23 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 27 | -36 | 17 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 27 | -27 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 7 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
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|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
