:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65814281/1185818991.jpg.0.jpg)
Not even Jose Mourinho can convince Christian Eriksen to extend his stay at Tottenham Hotspur. New reporting has emerged today that suggests that Spurs made one last ditch attempt to keep the Danish playmaker at Spurs beyond the conclusion of his contract, and he has turned the club down once again, preferring a new challenge outside of north London.
According to Dan Kilpatrick at the Evening Standard, Mourinho and the Tottenham hierarchy had offered Eriksen a new deal and a fresh start at Spurs with a £200k/week wage, putting him at the top of Spurs’ wage structure along with Harry Kane, but Eriksen rejected the offer and will want to leave the club. Kilpatrick also says that chairman Daniel Levy will not want to lose Eriksen on a Bosman, so it’s likely that Spurs will try and offload him for whatever they can get in the January transfer window.
It doesn’t seem super likely that this will be successful, however. Levy apparently would ask around £25m for Eriksen in January, but clubs could just wait it out and sign him on a free transfer in June. The only way I can see Eriksen leaving early would be if there’s a club that could use him immediately.
One club that could use him right away would be Mancheter United. The Athletic (£) also reports today that United was a possible destination on deadline day last summer and that Eriksen turned it down to hold out for Real Madrid. United may have cooled their interest in Eriksen slightly after this summer, but Old Trafford may yet be a potential landing point for him, possibly as a swap deal for Nemanja Matic, a long-time favorite of Mourinho. Juventus and Real Madrid also remain potential destinations.
It’s clear, however, that Eriksen’s days at Spurs are now officially numbered, if they weren’t already. It looks like any small hope that he could reverse course with a new manager at the wheel and stay at Spurs has been extinguished. Now all that remains is his next club, when he’ll leave, and how much Spurs might get in exchange.