LONDON – Mauricio Pochettino defended his decision to drop contract rebel Christian Eriksen after Tottenham’s shock defeat by Newcastle.
And after the game, the Tottenham manager refused to offer any guarantees that Eriksen – who can leave Spurs as a free agent when his contract runs out next summer – would still be at the club after next Sunday’s European transfer deadline.
Tottenham lacked creativity without Eriksen, who was introduced as a second-half substitute.
Asked why playmaker Eriksen had not started the game, Pochettino said: “I cannot pick more than 11. We have plenty of players. If the result was 3-0, you wouldn’t ask me that question. The players who are out are always good when you don’t win.”
When asked whether Eriksen had played his last game for Spurs, Pochettino said: “I don’t know. It’s so difficult.
“Some situations we cannot fix, we knew that a situation like this could happen. What can we do?”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/PL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PL⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/s3zr9Jvhle
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Eriksen is known to want a move to Real Madrid, Barcelona or Juventus.
“These types of situations happen in the Premier League,” Pochettino said.
“That is why you need to create a very good dynamic, and at the moment, that situation in our group is still far, far away.”