LEVY PUTS REAL OFF ERIKSEN DEAL
TOTTENHAM’S hopes of hanging on to Christian Eriksen have been boosted by Real Madrid’s concerns about tough negotiations with Daniel Levy. Madrid have baulked at the Spurs chairman valuing playmaker Eriksen at £130million even though the Dane has just one year left on his contract. And the Spanish giants are reluctant to get drawn into protracted negotiations with the Spurs chief to reach a compromise over Eriksen. While agreeing personal terms with Eriksen would not be a problem, Madrid believe they will need the 27-year-old to push for a move to help bring the fee down. They know how difficult talks with Levy can be, having signed Gareth Bale from Spurs in 2013, a year after buying Luka Modric. Pochettino revealed that Spurs have not given up hope of persuading Eriksen to sign a new contract. He said: ‘It is a very special situation. The timing for him and the club to be agreeing something is different from with other players. I hope Christian will be with us in the future, and I think Christian and we are open to talk, so we will see what happens.’ Team-mate Danny Rose added: ‘It is vital he stays. I hope he does sign and the lads trust the people upstairs to get him to do that.’ Rose has called on the Premier League to do more to help English clubs in Europe. An entire round of Dutch fixtures has been postponed this weekend to help Ajax prepare for their Champions League semi-final with Spurs next Tuesday. ‘I could not believe it when I heard,’ said Rose. ‘It would be nice if the people in England helped us out.’