Sporting midfielder not the man to replace Eriksen at Spurs
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With Christian Eriksen reportedly asking for a wage increase Tottenham are unlikely to grant, Portugal international Adrien Silva is being touted as the Dane’s potential replacement, although where the Sporting Lisbon midfielder would fit in at White Hart Lane is open to debate.
Juventus-linked Eriksen is said to be demanding £150,000 per week, almost twice the pay packet of Spurs’ top earner Hugo Lloris, to stay in north London beyond the two years left on his current contract, leading to rumours of a £13m move for the 27-year-old.
Silva impressed for his triumphant country at Euro 2016, when the Os Leoes regular started all of Portugal’s knockout matches including the final, racking up a sound 86.6% pass-completion rate.
However, Silva’s best work of late has come in either the number 10 role or central midfield, two areas of the pitch where Spurs are fairly well stocked at present.
Dele Alli started the Lilywhites’ first match of the Premier League campaign, the 1-1 draw at Everton, in the spot behind striker Harry Kane, with central-midfield duo Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier making up the ‘2’ in boss Mauricio Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
Banned Belgian Mousa Dembele will cover in both areas when he returns from suspension, with Algeria international Nabil Bentaleb, highly-rated youngster Harry Winks plus stalwarts Ryan Mason and Tom Carroll also around to provide backup.
Eriksen may see himself as a number 10, but as has often been the case during his three-year Spurs career so far, the 24-year-old is being utilised as a left-forward by Pochettino going into the new campaign.
The Argentine tactician has been trying to get over the line with a deal for young French left-winger Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, presumably a natural fit for Spurs’ pressing strategy considering the 21-year-old was signed for Marseille by Pochettino’s managerial mentor Marcelo Bielsa.
Having only bought Wanyama and striker Vincent Janssen so far this summer, Pochettino could certainly use the fresh impetus Silva would provide, but the 13-cap Selecao man would face a fierce fight to get into the Lilywhites’ XI whether Eriksen is still around or not.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
