Tottenham need to be very careful with Christian Eriksen

Real Madrid’s interest in Christian Eriksen has Tottenham in a tough spot. They need to be careful not to commit a critical mistake with the talented Dane.

In a perfect world, Tottenham would be free to negotiate a new contract with Christian Eriksen on their own time. Unfortunately that isn’t reality for Spurs. Real Madrid’s interest in the Danish maestro is putting the North London club under serious pressure.

Not surprisingly, Daniel Levy and company are anxious to secure the talented midfielder’s services by signing him to a new contract. Reports from Spain claim Spurs are willing to hand Eriksen a new deal that would put his wages on par with Harry Kane. That sounds great in theory, but it could become a practical nightmare for the club.

There’s a real question as to whether or not Tottenham can afford to pay two players that kind of money. Various reports claim Kane is earning somewhere in the neighbourhood of £200 thousand per week. That isn’t outrageous by Premier League standards, but it’s a lot more than Tottenham have paid any player until very recently.

Paying the best striker in England a lot of money makes a lot of sense. Kane is huge for Tottenham on the pitch and his commercial value is immense. With all due respect to Eriksen, his impact at Spurs is not as great as Kane’s in either department.

That’s one reason handing him wages equal to Kane’s is so dangerous. It’s possible it could rub the striker the wrong way. Tottenham may not be prepared to give Kane another raise to keep him well ahead of Eriksen.

It’s also highly debatable whether or not Eriksen is the second best player in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. Dele Alli could certainly make a similar claim. In short, paying Eriksen massive wages will embolden several of his teammates to ask for similar compensation. As always, giving one player a significant raise can inspire a domino effect inside the dressing room.

With all that being said, Tottenham really don’t have a choice here. The worst thing that can happen to Spurs is to be seen as a feeder club for other clubs in Europe. Selling Eriksen to Real Madrid would only reinforce that identity. Losing him would hurt Spurs on the pitch, but it might be even more harmful to the club in board rooms across Europe.

That’s why, despite all the risk, Tottenham need to snub Real Madrid and keep their talented attacking midfielder. Re-signing Eriksen will come at a serious cost for the club, but losing him would be even more expensive in the long run.