Christian Eriksen is struggling for form and playing time at Inter Milan and has unsurprisingly been linked with a return to Tottenham.
Many will have scoffed at the idea of us bringing the 28-year-old back months after we sold him, but Fabrizio Romano of Sky Sports, the Guardian and Di Marzio said on his Here We Go podcast that there was some truth to the rumours.
What contact was made between Tottenham and Inter?
When there was talk of Tanguy Ndombele and Milan Skriniar swapping clubs in July, Eriksen’s name was thrown in the mix.
Romano said: “There was a chance to see Christian Eriksen back to Tottenham this summer. It was the start of July, when Inter Milan and Tottenham started to talk about the situation of (Tanguy) Ndombele and Milan Skriniar.
“It was really complicated from day one. But during the first discussions, someone from Tottenham asked if there was the possibility to get Eriksen back on loan.”
Eriksen joined Inter for €20m (£18.1m) in January and has gone on to make 28 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals with three assists. He’s only started 12 games (42.8%) under Antonio Conte and was substituted in eight of them.
This season, the Danish international started in Inter’s 4-3 win over Fiorentina (September 26), only managed a few minutes from the bench in their 5-2 win over Benevento (September 30) and was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw with Lazio (October 4).
Eriksen has four years remaining on his deal, but it’s hard to see him staying at the San Siro while he’s on the periphery. The 28-year-old said as much in a Denmark press conference, revealing: “I don’t want to sit the bench for the whole season. I hope this isn’t the coach’s or the club’s intention. It’s never nice to sit the bench and one tends to be less patient as his experience grows.”
Why didn’t we sign Eriksen?
Inter weren’t willing to loan Eriksen back to us after signing him permanently, so we killed any chance of a move.
Romano said: “Inter immediately said, ‘No we won’t sell a player on loan after signing him for €20m five months ago.’ But Tottenham asked for him, so pay attention for the future I would say. If Eriksen is not in Antonio Conte’s plans or an important player for him, pay attention to Tottenham because they are still thinking to him.”
It’s hard to see Eriksen returning, but I didn’t think Gareth Bale would be back in North London either, so who knows?
In other news, here’s why Tottenham missed out on Antonio Rudiger on deadline day