Christian Eriksen on remaining at Tottenham: 'I wish I could decide myself'

Posted Wednesday, September 04, 2019 by 101 GREAT GOALS

Spurs midfielder Christian Eriksen has this afternoon opened up on his failure to secure a move away from the club this summer.

Tottenham standout

Danish international Eriksen has been on the books of Spurs for 6 years now, having made the move to the English capital from Dutch giants Ajax in 2013.

And the 27-year-old has since gone on to establish himself not only as one of Tottenham's key figures, but also as one of the most highly-regarded midfielders in England.

The last 4 Premier League campaigns combined, including last season, saw Eriksen directly contribute to a hugely-impressive 83 goals.

Eriksen's contract talks

However, despite his crucial role in Spurs' midfield ranks, to this point, Eriksen has refused to put pen-to-paper on a new deal in north London.

The 89-time capped international's current contract is set to expire in the summer of 2020.

'Try something new'

Eriksen's contract standoff, meanwhile, inevitably saw rumours mount that the Dane was set for a departure from the English capital this summer.

Eriksen himself, meanwhile, did little to play down the speculation surrounding his future back in June, when the midfielder admitted that he was keen on seeking out a new challenge this summer.

Christian Eriksen celebrates during the UEFA Champions League Group B match between Tottenham Hotspur and FC Internazionale. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Speaking in an interview with Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, Eriksen explained:

'I feel that I am at a stage of my career where I would like to try something new. I have the deepest respect for everything that is happening at Tottenham and it would not be something negative to stay. But I have also said that I would like to try something new.'

'I hope that something will be decided this summer. That is the plan. In football you never know when there could be a decision like that. It could be at any point. The best thing is always for it to happen quickly but in football things take time.'

'Never know what happens in football'
In the end, however, the club most persistently-linked with a swoop for the 27-year-old, Real Madrid, failed to table a bid for Eriksen.

As such, with the European transfer deadline having passed last night, the midfielder will continue to ply his trade in north London until at least January.

And Eriksen has since opened up on his failure to find the 'new challenge' which he was seeking, during an interview earlier today.

Speaking to the Guardian, the former Ajax man stuck firmly to his guns, even admitting that he wishes football was more like a computer game, so he could have pushed through a transfer himself:

'I wish I could decide myself, like you can do in the [computer game] Football Manager, but I can't do that sadly. I don't think it was wrong [to say that it was time for a new challenge]. But this is football and you never know what happens in football. A lot of things play a part.'

On whether the constant speculation surrounding his name has had a negative effect on the Dane, Eriksen continued:

'It is not a problem for me to empty my head [and get away from it]. I don't read a lot of what is written. I have been doing this for many years now and there have been a lot of rumours.'

'A lot has been written, that I have been to Madrid to look for a house and so on, but it really doesn't disrupt my life at all. The summer holidays were great. We went to Asia. It is always good to travel to the other side of the world.'