Tottenham Hotspur are already preparing for life after Christian Eriksen, it seems.
The Denmark international is a reported target for Real Madrid who could break the bank to make him the next Galactico.
Eriksen has just 18 months left on his current deals with talks over a new one unsuccessful despite going on for over a year.
Even if the proposed switch to Spain ultimately fails to go through, the Dane isn’t short of admirers.
Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Chelsea have expressed interests in the playmaker.
Although Mauricio Pochettino has said he will do everything in his power to keep the midfielder, the North London side may already be
Leicester City midfielder James Maddison has been tipped to succeed the 27-year-old.
Maddison will get a first-hand chance to impress when Leicester go to Wembley on Sunday.
The Englishman has only been at the King Power Stadium for eight months after joining for a £24million deal from Norwich.
In that short time, Maddison impressed in the Premier League, gaining loads of admirers beyond Leicester.
Like Eriksen, he is proficient in the art of finding pockets of space between the lines.
Maddison is given the freedom of the pitch in whichever formation his manager deploys him in.
Whether out wide or forward, he constantly floats in-field to find space, making it difficult for opposing wide players to track him, much like Eriksen.
The 22-year-old has been directly involved in nine strikes (five goals, four assists) in 23 Premier League appearances and his fine form won him his first England call-up last October.
However, 90min reports that the Foxes won’t let him leave and will offer him a bumper new deal to convince him to stay similar to Harry Maguire.
Eriksen joined Spurs in 2013 from Ajax and has since evolved into an elite midfielder creating and scoring at will.
Real would have to cough out almost £100m to land the midfielder but with the Spanish club struggling this season, they will be under pressure to invest in the summer.
Just 50 per cent of that fee would surely be enough to lure Maddison to North London.
That’s if the Foxes don’t give blind eyes to the megabucks.
After winning the title a few seasons ago, the club have ambitions to remain amongst the top teams in the division and selling any of their star players would give the wrong message to the fans.
Tottenham may have to rely on the player to help push through any move, as he would surely be keen to regularly compete at the top of the table and in the Champions League, something Leicester cannot offer.
