Tottenham Hotspur’s preparations for the new season have been thrown into turmoil by the contract demands of Danish international midfielder Christian Eriksen, 24.
The Spurs hierarchy were left stunned by his agent in talks over a new five-year deal. The Dane is demanding wages of £150,000 per week, double those paid to the club’s current highest earner, Hugo Lloris, 29.
Perennial Italian champions Juventus are monitoring the situation whilst Inter Milan’s new manager, Frank De Boer, previously worked with Eriksen at Ajax and is known to be an admirer of the midfielder.
Salaries at Tottenham compare unfavourably with those paid at rivals with the club conscious that they cannot compete with the likes of the Manchester City and United, as well as Arsenal and Chelsea, who have all reaped the financial benefits of consistently qualifying for the Champions League.
It’s left Daniel Levy in a quandary. Contract negotiations with Jan Vertonghen, 29, and Erik Lamela, 24, are ongoing and news of a big pay rise for Eriksen would have a ripple effect to those talks. The Tottenham chairman must now decide if there is a middle ground to be found or look to the transfer market as the solution.
The situation is likely to drag on for some time yet, leaving Tottenham fans hoping it doesn’t have a detrimental impact on the new Premier League season which kicks off today.
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