Won't comment on Christian Eriksen's future, reveals Jose Mourinho
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Jose Mourinho has refused to reveal the talks he has had with Tottenham star Christian Eriksen regarding the Dane's future at the club. Eriksen's contract is set to expire at the end of the season and he is expected to leave Spurs on a free transfer with Real Madrid among his top destinations.
Christian Eriksen is widely expected to leave Tottenham Hotspur either in the January transfer window or in the summer when his contract expires. The former Ajax player struggled this season under Mauricio Pochettino but has had a decent run of games under Mourinho. Eriksen started his first game under Portugese on Wednesday against German heavyweights Bayern Munich.
However, newly appointed Spurs manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he is happy with the Danish playmaker and has refused to comment on the player's future. The former Chelsea boss went on to say that he maintains a good relationship with Eriksen and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to reveal any talks that he had with Eriksen over the player's future.
"I only know his contract ends at the end of the season and the conversations I have had with Christian are private conversations that I am not going to share. He was so honest with me and I was so honest with him – our relationship is really, really good. We have a very good relationship that started on day one. I am not going to betray that trust and relationship," said Mourinho to the Goal.
"I just share this intimate conversations with the structure if the club and Christian obviously knows I am an important part of the club and my job is to share with the structure but to you, it is not for me to say. It is up to Christian to tell anything he wants to or not. Every time I play him, I think he shows clearly the quality he has and he tries to help the team when he’s on the pitch which is an important thing for me, independent of his future."
Eriksen has made it clear that he is not willing to stay at the New Tottenham Hotspur stadium and has rejected a number of new contracts offered by the Spurs hierarchy. The Danish international has admitted that he wants a new challenge and wants to leave England. Real Madrid are keen to bring him to Santiago Bernabeu and Los Blancos President Florentino Perez has even contacted the player's representatives to discuss a potential deal.
Manchester United are also in the hunt for a creative playmaker and Eriksen is said to be their one of the top choices. However, Jose Mourinho assured everyone that the 27-year-old remains focused on helping Tottenham till the time he remains at the club. Giovanni Lo Celso signed for the North London club in the summer and is expected to fill in as the successor to Eriksen once he leaves.
"He's our player (Lo Celso). Our squad is not a big squad in numbers, and he will start for sure because It's impossible to play all the time with the same players. It looks obvious the way Dele is playing, Sonny [Son Heung-min]. In this moment they are one step ahead. I couldn't hide from you that we have a few players one step ahead because of performance. So you want to be objective and ask if he starts Sunday, no he doesn't," concluded the Portuguese.
