Why Tottenham are wise to overlook emotional Eriksen return

 

Tottenham fans are all too familiar with the club waiting until deadline day to complete a bulk of their business. So for the window to have been opened for 10 or so days, and to have brought in three news faces already, shows a complete u-turn on the way they complete their deals. 

 

Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma have all made the move to north London, and if reports are anything to go by, Spurs are not yet done in the market. A right wing-back, centre-back and striker remain the priority, and a number of players have been linked with a summer switch to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though, at the time of writing, Christian Eriksen won't be making an emotional return to north London. 

 

Eriksen left Spurs for Inter back in 2020, but supporters have been keen to see the Dane back at the club ever since his exit. Following his cardiac arrest for Denmark last summer, few would have taken a chance on Eriksen, yet Brentford were willing to provide him an opportunity to re-establish himself as one of the best in the business, and he certainly grabbed that with both hands. 

 

The Bees looked to be on a path back to the Championship, yet with Eriksen in the starting XI, they won seven of 11 league matches to consolidate a top-flight spot. Eriksen repaid the faith shown in him by Brentford, who had given the creative star a short-term deal. With that contract expiring next week, the west London side are fighting tooth and nail to retain his services, though do face competition from the likes of Manchester United and Ajax. 

 

Spurs were believed to have been one of those set to compete for his services, yet Football.London reports that, despite the club being in talks with Eriksen's representatives over a possible return, they have not followed that up since. Everything could change over the coming days, though with Eriksen in high demand, Spurs would need to act quickly if they are to lure him back to the capital. 

 

In truth, though, do Spurs really need Eriksen back? It's fair to say that they never really replaced Eriksen following his 2020 move to Inter, and Antonio Conte stated earlier this year how he'd like to see the midfielder return to Spurs. The pair worked together with Inter, with the Denmark international ultimately key in the Nerazzurri's Scudetto success in Conte's second season at the Inter helm. 

 

In that season, Conte favoured a 3-5-2 system, with Eriksen largely featuring alongside Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolo Barella when called upon. That setup allowed the Dane the chance to get forward and support the regular front pairing of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, a role than Hakan Calhanoglu plays for Inter now following his free arrival from AC Milan last summer. 

 

However, since taking charge at Spurs, Conte has favoured a 3-4-3 system. It was a formation that didn't sit well initially, but the January arrivals of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski aided its ultimate success as Spurs pipped rivals Arsenal to a Champions League finish. With the arrival of Bissouma, Conte now has four quality central midfield options battling for two spots, while he is unlikely to break the attacking trio of Kulusevski, Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane. 

 

That means there, in theory, wouldn't be an immediate space in the Spurs XI available to Eriksen. While he would be a handy option to call upon, particularly against defences that sit deep, the fact is Conte clearly has a first choice plan in north London now. Eriksen has the attacking qualities to pry apart a tough backline, yet lacks the defensive discipline to succeed in a midfield two. 

 

1.2 tackles per 90 may look good on paper, but Eriksen in turn was dribbled past 0.9 times per 90 in the Premier League last season. This wasn't frequently capitalised upon as Eriksen for the most part had compatriot Christian Nørgaard operating alongside him in a three-man midfield. Nørgaard ranked second for possession won the midfield third (159) and first for tackles (109) in England's top tier last term, so he was able to protect the defence well and shouldered much of the defensive burden in midfield, which in turn allowed Eriksen to maximise his creative qualities. 

 

At Spurs, and in a two-man midfield, they'd be far too open and this would pile the pressure upon the defence in a system that would leave the backline far too exposed. The compactness of the backline means they may be able to repel the threat, but that would see Spurs sacrifice control in games, and that could prove costly. 

 

 

Considering the speed with which Kulusevski, Son and Kane have struck up an understanding - they rank among the top four for goals and assists combined in the Premier League in 2022 - it would be a huge waste to break up that triumvirate for the sake of crowbarring Eriksen into the XI. With the current options, Spurs may lack creativity from the middle of the park, but the hard working central midfield duo means the wing-backs provide this attacking thrust, while there is then less pressure on Son and Kulusevski to carry out defensive duties. 

 

In addition, with Kane dropping as deep as he does, he and Eriksen would only clog up space in the final third, which would impact Spurs in front of goal. There's no denying that supporters would love to see Eriksen back in a Spurs shirt, yet practically it's a move that doesn't make much sense unless Conte is prepared to tinker with an established system, or the player himself is willing to play more of a bit part role. To put it bluntly, Spurs need to prioritise other areas before fighting tooth and nail for Eriksen.

Why Tottenham are wise to overlook emotional Eriksen return