Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has conceded he ‘doesn’t know’ if Christian Eriksen will play for the club again.
The boss has also claimed his squad is the ‘most unsettled’ it has ever been in his five years in charge at White Hart Lane, with the futures of a number of other first-team players also uncertain.
Eriksen has been strongly linked with a departure for most of the summer, having entered the final year on his contract.
The Denmark playmaker is a reported target for Spanish giants Real Madrid before the September 2 European transfer deadline, and although he could end up staying he will likely leave for nothing next summer when his contract expires.
Eriksen was left on the bench for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Newcastle United, with the midfielder coming on in the second half as Spurs lost 1-0 at home.
And asked following the game if the 27-year-old has played his final game for Tottenham, Pochettino said: “I don’t know. I don’t know. Why you ask me? Maybe you know something.
“We are waiting to see what happens.
“It’s so difficult, the situation. We know this can unsettle the group but we know in ten days it will finish [when the window closes] and things will be clear.
“I am going to be happy in ten days after we play Arsenal [on 1 September] when the transfer window closes in Europe.”
Eriksen’s absence for the majority of the Newcastle game was startling obvious, highlighting how much last season’s Champions League finalists rely on the Dane.
Spurs enjoyed 80% of possession against the Magpies but lacked creativity, registering only two shots on target.
But he is not the only first-team player whose long-term future at the club is in doubt.
Jan Vertonghen, also in the final year of his contract, has not featured yet this season, while fellow centre-back Toby Alderweireld is a free agent at the end of the season.
England left-back Danny Rose was told he could leave the club before the new Premier League season got underway but is yet to seal a move, while Victor Wanyama is reportedly on the verge of joining Belgian side Club Brugge.
Spurs have of course brought in a few new faces in club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis.
But Pochettino admits his side are a bit of a mess at the moment.
“You know very well and I told you in pre-season, before (their Premier League opener against) Aston Villa, after Aston Villa, positive result or negative result, the group is still unsettled,” said the boss.
“We need to find solutions. We have one week more to wait and see what happens in the last ten days.
“I think this is my sixth season and the most unsettled group we are working with.
“That is why we are relaxed and calm. Some situations we cannot fix. Nothing to say about that, situations that are going on in the squad. Still we need to wait.
“That is the circumstances after playing the Champions League (final) on June 1, we knew that some situations like this would happen but for us and the club it’s difficult to handle. What can we do? We can only wait.
“I cannot do more than try to help the team find the best dynamic to train and not to create too many problems and be a person who is not being very emphatic, but understand every single situation and try to get a good result.”
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