Christian Eriksen Still Committed to Tottenham, Says Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino has said Christian Eriksen remains committed to Tottenham Hotspur despite having fewer than eight months remaining on his contract. 

The Danish playmaker said in June he wanted to leave Spurs to try something new.

He was strongly linked to Real Madrid but ended up remaining in north London when the summer transfer window closed:

From January, Eriksen will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any foreign club, but Pochettino has rubbished the idea he is any less committed to Spurs now than he was when he signed in 2013, per MailOnline's Harry Slavin: 

"I don't think the performance of Christian is any different than when we signed him five-and-a-half years ago. His commitment is the same—sometimes we maybe look too much at whether a player has a one-year contract or a four-year contract.

"In the end it is about commitment—maybe players in the last year of their contract show more commitment than a player with four more years on their contract. But when you see Christian and you compare him to different seasons, he is the same player."

Spurs have made a poor start to the 2019-20 Premier League campaign and currently sit 11th in the table:

Part of their problem has been the erratic form of Eriksen, who has previously been a reliable presence at the heart of Tottenham's play:

In 10 league appearances this term, the 27-year-old has scored one goal and provided just one assist.

In his five previous seasons under Pochettino, the former Ajax man returned 42 goals and 52 assists in 181 appearances in the English top flight.

Purely based on crude numbers, Eriksen has gone from contributing to a goal roughly once every other game to once every five games in 2019-20.

He is not Spurs' only under-performing player at the moment, but he is bearing the brunt of fan criticism over a perceived disinterest and a lack of commitment to the club.

Per Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic, Eriksen, who "is not himself right now," was watched by Juventus at Anfield in Spurs' 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at the end of October. 

There are likely numerous other top European clubs preparing for the possibility of signing him on a free transfer next summer.

Whether or not his potential departure from Spurs is hampering Eriksen's form, it is clear the Denmark international is not at his best, no matter what Pochettino says, and that is causing problems for Spurs.

Tottenham are back in action on Wednesday when they face Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League before they host Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday.