Christian Eriksen insists transfer speculation isn’t to blame for his and Spurs’ poor form

Christian Eriksen is struggling, and so is Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs have struggled heavily in recent weeks in the Premier League, Champions League, and even in the League Cup, where they were bounced by lowly Colchester United. Eriksen has not looked anything like the player he has been in the past at Tottenham, and some people have wondered if that’s because he didn’t get his move away from the club this summer.

Eriksen, who is on international duty with Denmark, has come out and said that isn’t the case. The Evening Standard has a translation of the quotes which are originally from Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet.

“It doesn’t matter at all. Everyone is professional and in all clubs there is talk of players going away. That side of the matter has no bearing on how we have performed so far this season. If I, as a football player, took all the rumors to me, I would float on a cloud. But I know that it can’t all be true. It does not affect me what is written.”

The Dane has faced substantial criticism from supporters and media alike for his performances this year. In the past, he has been one of Tottenham’s most important players, so maybe it’s telling that the team has been having so many issues while Eriksen himself has been ineffective.

Eriksen said he wanted a new challenge this past summer, but neither Barcelona or Real Madrid (the two clubs he was apparently most interested in moving to) stepped up to make any sort of serious attempt at signing him. Now, he’s with Spurs until January at the earliest. He may end up having to wait until summer when he can leave the club on a free transfer.

The 27-year-old also admitted that this has been the hardest period of his six years at Tottenham.

“It’s definitely my hardest time right now at Tottenham. The first year when I came was probably a bit up and down, but since Pochettino came in 2014 it has been a success story. Expectations for us are at a completely different level now. We have to win every time and it’s the same feeling we have as players as well. We as players must try to keep all the negative things completely out. But the reason for our results is actually hard to answer. We can’t close the matches, even though we are ahead. But we have also been unlucky.”

Not everyone will believe Eriksen, but this is still probably better than if he had used this international break to trash Spurs and what is currently going on at the club.

It’s true that the Dane does seem a bit disillusioned. He has managed just one goal and one assist in the Premier League thus far this season. Pochettino has had him in and out of the lineup, while at the same time the gaffer has talked about certain players not having the right agendas, which some have taken to be a reference to Eriksen.

Hopefully he can put his head down and regain focus and form until all this is resolved and he eventually gets the transfer he is after.