Tottenham news: Christian Eriksen exit ‘nearly impossible’, says Mauricio Pochettino after derby draw

Eriksen has just one year left on his current contract with the club and will be able to leave north London on a free transfer next summer

Mauricio Pochettino has said that it will be “nearly impossible” for Christian Eriksen to leave Tottenham Hotspur before Monday’s European transfer deadline.

Eriksen has just one year left on his current contract with the club and will be able to leave north London on a free transfer next summer.

The 27-year-old Denmark international has been at Spurs since 2013 and admitted earlier that this summer that “I am at the stage of my career where I would like to try something new,” leading to speculation he could depart for either Real Madrid or Juventus.

However, concrete interest in his services failed to materialise and now Pochettino is optimistic of keeping him for the rest of the season.

“Christian Eriksen had a big performance,” he said after his club’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby. “His mind was clear that he wanted to play. It’s nearly impossible for something to happen [with a transfer tomorrow], that’s why it was clear.

“There is still one day. And I don’t want to say it is impossible. But it will be difficult. I am optimistic.”

Pochettino refused to criticise his team for allowing a two goal lead to slip at the Emirates.

Eriksen opened the scoring within ten minutes before Harry Kane doubled Tottenham’s advantage from the penalty spot. But Alexandre Lacazette pulled one back just seconds before the half-time whistle, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring the equaliser in a second half that Arsenal dominated.

But Pochettino insisted he was “optimistic and positive” after the result and promised that his team will improve after the European transfer window closes on Monday evening.

“I told you from day one of pre-season that [the deadline] is why I was not happy,” he said, having repeatedly claimed of European clubs being able to unsettle and buy Premier League players long after the English top-flight’s own transfer deadline.

“And I was worried about the situation. Because we knew very well what was going on. But now we are all on the same page — everybody at the club. And [after the deadline] they will be 100 per cent focused on Tottenham and not thinking about other teams, which makes things difficult for the management.”