Did Tottenham use threat of Isco to push Christian Eriksen to sign new contract?
Tottenham conspiracy theorists, this one’s for you.
Tottenham boss Daniel Levy is one of the Premier League’s toughest negotiators. There aren’t many tactics he wouldn’t employ to gain some valuable leverage in a deal. That’s why I really wonder if he used the idea of Isco moving to Tottenham to push Christian Eriksen to agree to a new Spurs contract.
The Evening Standard are reporting that Eriksen is set to agree to a new four-year contract with the club once he returns from international duty. He’ll net a significant pay raise in the process. His wage packet should more than double to a total of 65 thousand pounds per week.
Assuming Eriksen does put pen to paper as expected, it’ll end a long, tense negotiation between the player and club. Tottenham have long been keen to tie the Danish attacker to a new deal for the better part of a calendar year. Eriksen’s representatives have held off on agreeing to a new deal in an effort to push the player’s salary as high as possible.
You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t think it’s coincidence that Eriksen’s stance softened after Spurs fans began dreaming of Isco coming to White Hart Lane. The arrival of the Real Madrid star would have suddenly put Eriksen’s place in the starting 11 into serious question. In the minds of some Tottenham fans, that would have been a very good thing.
It makes you wonder whether or not Levy might have planted the Isco story. It’s always been a rather far-fetched rumor. Tottenham certainly haven’t had much success acquiring players from Real Madrid in the past. In addition, Isco has always been keen to remain in his native Spain if given a choice.
I couldn’t really blame Levy if he chose to use the transfer rumor mill to put a little pressure on Eriksen. There’s no better way to bring the Dane to the negotiating table like threatening his place in the squad. It’s entirely possible that Eriksen agreed to a new deal as a direct result of the mere spectre of Isco arriving at the club.
Some might call that sort of move by Levy underhanded. I call it doing what’s necessary to advance Tottenham as a club. You can hurl a lot of criticism at the head of Tottenham’s business affairs, but he doesn’t miss a trick at the negotiating table. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that Levy himself leaked the Isco rumor to help Spurs hang on to Christian Eriksen.
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