4 ways that Mauricio Pochettino can turn around Tottenham Hotspur's slump

#3 Freeze Eriksen out entirely

Christian Eriksen has been in terrible form in recent weeks

Much has been made of Christian Eriksen’s contract status at Tottenham; the Danish playmaker’s current deal runs out in the summer of 2020 and he’ll be free to negotiate with overseas teams from January unless he signs a new deal with Spurs, which seems highly unlikely right now.

Eriksen himself has stated that he wants a “new challenge”, specifically pointing at Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, but with no concrete interest, his future is simply up in the air.

The issue for Spurs in recent weeks has been their over-reliance on the Dane. Eriksen comes across on the pitch as a player who doesn’t necessarily want to be with the club any more – he was Tottenham’s worst player by far in the disappointing 2-2 Champions League draw with Olympiacos – but Pochettino seems reluctant to leave him out due to his creative abilities at the front of the midfield.

But surely enough is enough now; Eriksen’s form has been disappointing dating back to the latter stages of 2018/19 and while he’s clearly the most creative player Tottenham have, if he’s off form then he doesn’t offer much at all. January’s transfer window is now less than three months away, so why not take a different stance and freeze him out entirely?

Argentine playmaker Giovani Lo Celso – the man purported to be a replacement for Eriksen – is due back from injury any time now, and even if he’s not quite ready, a tweak of the system could remove the need for so much reliance on Eriksen. If he doesn’t want to be there, and that looks like the case right now, then Tottenham should give him his wish – and stop playing him unless things are desperate.