Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen has come in for huge criticism from supporters this season.
Eriksen has come in for fierce criticism from Tottenham fans this season, with his commitment being questioned.
Eriksen has just months remaining on his Spurs contract, and it seems that the Dane is almost certain to leave Tottenham in the coming months.
The playmaker has not produced his best form for Spurs for well over a year now, with his latest performance against Everton absolutely awful.
Eriksen failed to offer Spurs any creativity, as they claimed a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.
But Pochettino insists that he is still happy with Eriksen’s form.
And he feels that the attacking midfielder is only short of his best because he didn’t have a full pre-season.
“I don’t think the performance of Christian is any different than when we signed him five and a half years ago. I think it’s no different,” Pochettino said. “His commitment is the same as five year ago, and I am happy with him.
“Sometimes we look too much at whether players have a four or a five-year contract. In the end it’s about commitment. Maybe players in the last year of their contract show more commitment than a player with four more years on their contract. The idea always in football is when you pre-judge situations and it’s difficult afterwards to change the mind.
“In that case I’m happy with Christian. When you see Christian and you compare him to different seasons, he is the same player. This season of course after the final and he played with the national team in the middle of June, he got surgery on his groin and of course the pre-season was not the best for him.
“Like all the players he needs time to get his best form, but commitment and the way he is doing, of course we expect more from everyone and every single player because we need to improve but yes I am happy with him.”
Eriksen has been included in Tottenham’s travelling squad for their match this evening against Red Star Belgrade, and after Pochettino’s comments it seems he could be in contention to start again.
Pochettino has shown great faith in Eriksen, but his regular inclusion in Tottenham squads is becoming a source of frustration with supporters.
With Giovani Lo Celso now fit, many Tottenham fans are calling for their Argentinian international to be given a run of starts in place of Eriksen.
Lo Celso is yet to make a start for Spurs since signing, but he could be given the nod to feature from the off this evening in Serbia.
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