Mourinho remaining coy over the future of Eriksen
Jose Mourinho refused to talk about the future of midfielder Christian Eriksen after his side’s 2-2 draw at Norwich.
The Danish international, who has consistently been linked with a move away from the club in recent months, scored from a free-kick on his first Premier League start under Mourinho.
Eriksen, 27, could leave Tottenham on a free transfer next summer if he does not agree an extension to his current deal, which expires at the end of the season.
But the Portuguese manager declined to go into detail about how talks are progressing after Saturday’s match at Carrow Road. “We are so open with one another,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “We keep it to ourselves. Obviously I share it with my boss but it’s just between us. The only thing I can say is he is trying to help the team.”
Mourinho, meanwhile, has indicated that Tottenham’s defensive woes have made it impossible for him to know his best line-up at the back.
Spurs’ surge up the table under Mourinho has been undermined by a weak defence and that was on show again against Norwich.
Mourinho began the game at Carrow Road with a back three, but hooked off Juan Foyth and Jan Vertonghen at the break, while Serge Aurier, who scored an own goal, and Toby Alderweireld also had poor games.
While he is in no doubt about his attacking options, Mourinho says performances have made it difficult to be so sure at the other end. “It’s normal, no?,” he said. “Do I have doubts that Harry Kane is my No 9? Do I have doubts that Dele Alli is my No 10 for example? Performances create your doubts or performances kill your doubts, that’s just the way it is.”
Those defensive errors cost Spurs the chance to move into the top four of the Premier League for the first time since September.
Ryan Sessegnon, handed his second start of the festive period, knew it was an opportunity gone begging.
“I think from our side it was very disappointing,” he said. “We knew coming here was a chance for us to go and get three points and push us further up the table and you could say it was a chance wasted.”
The outcome might have been different had the perpendicular lines of VAR not saved Spurs from going 2-0 down in the first half.
After Mario Vrancic’s opener, Teemu Pukki looked to have doubled Norwich’s lead only for VAR to rule the striker offside by a matter of millimetres.
Eriksen then brought Spurs level and after Aurier’s gaffe, a late Harry Kane penalty denied Norwich a first home win since September.
Canaries skipper Grant Hanley says that the video replay system has changed the game.
“It’s a strange feeling, you work so hard to get a couple [of goals] up against a team like Spurs and you’re looking at the board and thinking, ‘Oh no, what’s the outcome going to be?’ but that’s the game today,” he said.