Harry Redknapp believes Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino should be starting Christian Eriksen despite the current transfer speculation surrounding the midfielder.
The 27-year-old only has one year left on his contract and according to reports isn’t interested in signing a new deal with the north London club.
With the European transfer window still open until September 2, speculation around Eriksen’s future is still uncertain.
Several teams across Europe are reportedly monitoring Eriksen’s situation, with interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, however, they only have until Monday to finalise a deal if they want to secure the player before the current transfer window closes.
Tottenham don’t want to risk losing the player, who has scored 49 goals and provided 60 assists in 208 Premier League appearances for the club, on a free transfer next summer.
But they now find themselves in a position that if they do decide to sell him they will have to wait until January before being able to bring in a possible replacement.
However, despite the uncertainty over the player’s future, Redknapp believes Pochettino cannot afford to leave such an influential player out of his side.
The Dane came off the bench in Spurs’ 3-1 season opener win over Aston Villa and was then given a starting role in their 2-2 draw with last season Premier League champions, Manchester City.
But Pochettino then moved Eriksen back to bench for the following game, which resulted in Tottenham suffering a surprising 1-0 loss to Newcastle.
And with Dele Alli recovering from a hamstring injury, Redknapp thinks Pochettino should be utilising the playmaking abilities of Eriksen as the midfielder is currently fit and still with the squad.
“Pochettino left Eriksen out of the first game against Villa, and he turned the game on its head when he came on and they got the win,” Redknapp said on talkSPORT.
“Without Dele Alli, Eriksen is the only player Spurs have got who can make that final pass. Why was he on the bench?
“I know he wants to go, but while he’s there I’d still be looking to play him to win games.
“If there is a problem with him, why bring him on, just because you’re in trouble?”
And Redknapp, who managed Spurs for four seasons, believes Pochettino should follow his example by how he used Luka Modric in games despite interest in the player from other clubs.
“[Eriksen] doesn’t look like a lad who is going to cause a problem does he?” Redknapp said.
“He’s come on and tried. He looks a good sort of boy to me.
“I had the same problem with Luka Modric when Chelsea came in for him, but he still played. Even though Chelsea were offering to double his money, he got on with it. He stayed, played and was fantastic.
“Eriksen looks the same type to me. He’s not a troublemaker, he’s a fantastic football and seems like a great lad.”
It has been reported that Spurs are willing to consider offers for Eriksen if a side meets their £50million valuation, although it is understood that Tottenham have yet to receive any firm offers for the midfielder.
