Christian Eriksen is considering a move to Manchester United or Juventus after waving goodbye to his dream move to Real Madrid, according to the Mirror.

Eriksen looked set to move away from the Premier League to La Liga this summer, after announcing his intention to leave in search of fresh challenges.

"I have the wildest and deepest respect for everything that has happened in Tottenham, nor will it be negative. But I have also said that I would like to try something new,” he said to Ekstra Bladet earlier in June.

"I hope there will be a clarification during the summer. That's the plan. In football you do not know when a clarification comes. It can happen anytime. Everyone wants it best if it happens as soon as possible, but in football takes things time.

"It depends on Daniel Levy, and another club has to come. Or I have to sit down at the table and negotiate a new contract. You can't set a date yourself.”

However, with Los Blancos stocking up on the best young talents in world football (plus Eden Hazard), and Zinedine Zidane reportedly (per Marca) only interested in bringing in Paul Pogba, the midfield maestro’s hopes of playing at the Bernabeu are over before they even started.

It opens up the opportunity for Manchester United to swoop in and take advantage of the situation, especially with their own man going the other way.

With that said, here are three knock-on effects of Eriksen making a U-turn and joining United…

Struggle to replace

Replacing a man who claimed 10 goals and 17 assists in all competitions last season won’t be an easy job for Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

So far, the club have been linked with La Liga talents Giovani Lo Celso and Dani Ceballos to fill the void, both of whom are talented players in their own right, with the former recently producing 16 goals and six assists for Real Betis and the latter a Spain under-21 international.

However, they’re both worryingly untested at the top level of football. Lo Celso, who arguably has the strongest claim to Eriksen’s throne due to last year’s performances, spent just two seasons at Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain before being loaned out to Spain. And Dani Ceballos, as good of a player he may be in the future, is still only 22-years-old and has contributed five goals and two assists in 56 appearances. This poses serious questions over his ability to shoulder the bulk of the club’s offensive efforts.

Doesn’t suggest immediate impact to us.

Another year without silverware

It’s been tough enough with Eriksen at the helm, never mind without him.

Not since Tottenham’s League Cup victory in 2008 have they had their hands on a major trophy. The Champions League final was their golden opportunity to strike. Yet, despite putting in some truly magnificent performances against Manchester City and Ajax, they fell desperately short on the day.

During the six seasons he’s spent in north London, Eriksen has played 277 games for the club. He’s produced 66 goals and 86 assists and has been the ever-present danger in the squad; the man to make things happen. But even with his influence Spurs haven’t been able to battle the infamous ‘bottle job’ jibes that have followed them around since the 1987 FA Cup final.

Eriksen moving to Old Trafford spells bad news for Spurs’ trophy hopes. Despite being immeasurably poor throughout the recently completed season, the Red Devils have shown time and time again in the past that they’re able to step up on the big occasions. Since Spurs last tasted glory, Manchester United have won eight trophies - including three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups and a Europa League. Surely Eriksen’s ability will only serve to boost United’s title prospects.

Fans lose faith

If a player publicly admits that he wants to pursue new challenges, then joins a Premier League rival then you know there’s something going wrong. It suggests that even a weakened Manchester United side, who currently offer nothing Spurs couldn’t (other than perhaps wages), can poach the club’s best players. Surely this kind of behaviour doesn’t inspire confidence amongst fans that they’re going to see many of the necessary improvements to mount a more successful challenge next season.

In turn, what kind of effect will this have on the players? Will they rise to the challenge, or will they also start to lose faith in the club? How many more will leave to join more successful rivals? A dangerous precedent could be set.

Spurs fans, do you agree with our predictions? Let us know in the comments below...