Tottenham Hotspur look to have been handed a big transfer blow in their hopes of re-signing Christian Eriksen this month after Inter manager Antonio Conte confirmed that the Danish international would not depart during the current transfer window.
Spurs have been linked with the £31.5 million-rated attacking-midfielder in recent weeks with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting they could look to bring him back if they decided to offload Dele Alli, as he has struggled for game time since signing for Inter in January 2020.
The former Ajax man spent six and a half years with the North London club between 2013 and 2020, in which time he would contribute an impressive 69 goals and 89 assists in 305 appearances.
His time in Italy has not exactly gone to plan, with just five goals and three assists for I Nerazzurri, so it was no surprise to see him being linked with a return to Jose Mourinho's side, especially with the current rumours surrounding fellow attacking-midfielder Dele Alli and his potential move to PSG.
However, a move for Eriksen now appears to be off the table for Spurs, after Conte discussed the 28-year-old following his late winning goal in the Coppa Italia win against AC Milan earlier this week.
He said:
“I’ve been repeating for a month how it is at Inter: no one comes and no one leaves. I’ve been saying this for a month.
“We’re working tactically with Christian to have an alternative to Brozovic because there is no other playmaker in this squad. He is a very intelligent player; he has quality and he is part of this project. I’m very happy he scored today, I pushed him to shoot because we know what he can do on the ball.
"We all love him in the dressing room because he is a decent person – maybe even a little too much. We’re sticking with him.”
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Therefore, from what the former Chelsea manager suggests, Eriksen will be staying with Inter this month as they look to get the best out of him.
This undoubtedly comes as a blow for Mourinho's side, who have often lacked a creative spark in midfield at times this season, and have drawn far too many games in the top-flight as a result.
Having someone such as Eriksen in the side would have perhaps taken some of the pressure off Harry Kane to be the chief creator in this Spurs side, and allow him to get back to being on the end of crosses into the box.
The Danish midfielder is certainly highly regarded amongst the Spurs squad, with Alli describing him as a "magician on the ball" back in 2019.
Therefore, if Mourinho wants to add a creative midfielder to his side this window, it looks as if they will have to look elsewhere following Conte's latest quotes on Eriksen.
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