Chelsea have reportedly entered the race to sign Tottenham contract rebel Christian Eriksen, who is also a target for Real Madrid.
According to a report by Spanish publication AS, Christian Eriksen is now the subject of interest from Chelsea, who have joined Real Madrid in the race to sign him. The Danish playmaker is being heavily linked with a move away from Tottenham, having rejected their offer to renew a deal that ends in June 2020.
Eriksen is perhaps the only success story resulting from Tottenham’s bid to use the proceeds from Gareth Bale’s sale to Real Madrid in a £100 million spending spree in the summer of 2013. In the five-and-a-half years that he has been at the North London club, the player has been quite a resounding success, playing a key role in their transformation into one of England’s top clubs.
But, as the season has progressed, concerns have been growing over Eriksen’s future, with the Dane yet to reach an agreement over a new deal – his current contract runs out in 18 months. The player’s position has alerted a number of clubs, the most prominent of these being Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Real Madrid have, in fact, been hot in pursuit of the 26-year-old for quite some time now, and for good reason. If their struggles in the 2018-19 season has shown anything, it is that the time to lay the succession plan down for Luka Modric has arrived, with the Croat not at his best this term.
In Eriksen, Los Blancos will have a player who can fill Modric’s boots and be a long-term creative solution at the Bernabeu. But, Real Madrid now face stiff competition from Chelsea in pursuit of the Danish playmaker.
Chelsea have known to be in the market for a midfielder, but most of the interest has been directed towards box-to-box midfielders. Eriksen’s purchase though, could potentially help take the burden off both Jorginho and Eden Hazard, as far as chance creation and goalscoring are concerned, respectively.
Should Hazard end up joining Real Madrid, as has been speculated quite heavily, Eriksen could also help mitigate the impact of the Belgian’s departure as well. Tottenham though, would hope to rebuff both Los Blancos and Chelsea, with Mauricio Pochettino already urging the player to stay put at the club.
But, if the impasse continues, it is likely that Real Madrid will hold the advantage over Chelsea in the race to sign Eriksen, as Tottenham would not want to strengthen a direct rival while getting weakened themselves. For now though, all of their focus is on ensuring the 26-year-old signs a new deal.
It now remains to be seen if Chelsea can do something they have failed to previously – swooping a target away from Tottenham. If not, Eriksen could be on his way to Real Madrid, provided a new contract is not agreed upon.