Journalist Martin Lipton will be shocked if Tottenham Hotspur sanction the sale of Christian Eriksen to Manchester United in the last knockings of the transfer window.
Not much time remains before Thursday’s 5pm deadline, and although Spanish publication AS reports that the Dane has agreed a contract at Old Trafford, Lipton would be surprised should these two clubs in particular do business at this late stage, given the history of transfer windows in years gone by – suggesting Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would have to gain something in return.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports have recently suggested that United are no longer pursuing the attacking midfielder.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Lipton said: “I think it’s clear that [Mauricio] Pochettino and Daniel Levy are willing to let Eriksen go. I will still be amazed if he goes to Manchester United, if only because when [Levy] was forced against his will to let [Michael] Carrick and [Dimitar] Berbatov go to United, he made a vow that he would not ever do business with United again, except on his terms.
“Losing Eriksen – whatever the price – to United, and getting nothing back isn’t on his terms, which is why, while I’d never discount anything, I think he’d be more prepared to sell Eriksen for less to a European team than to get in an extra £10-12m selling him to United.”
While the two clubs have previous in doing deals in the transfer market – one aspect Lipton did not mention was the fact that the tables have turned somewhat since the likes of Carrick and Berbatov departed White Hart Lane for Old Trafford.
Levy holding something of a grudge in not holding talks with United as a matter of principle seems to overlook the notion that Spurs should be in no position to supply a direct top-four rival (who they have finished above in three of the last four seasons) with one of their most prized assets.
