Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen has been challenged by Dimitar Berbatov to ‘leave his comfort zone’ and join Real Madrid.
The Denmark international is out of contract at the North London club in the summer of 2020 and is free to talk to other clubs from January.
The front pages of both Marca and Diario AS on Thursday were dominated by the speculation that Los Blancos will move to sign him this winter.
“Real Madrid has a great team and Eriksen must know that getting there would be an important challenge. Think about it: they have Kroos, Modric, Isco, Hazard…they are all proven players, world class players,” Berbatov explained, as cited by Diario AS.
“Yes, it is true that some have been there for a long time and that they are starting to get older, but they still have a very powerful group of players.
“So Eriksen at some point must ask himself if he is ready to fight, because he cannot wait to get there and start playing immediately. Look, even Hazard had a hard time starting at Real Madrid. Everyone, absolutely everyone can have moments like that.
“Because sometimes you think you need to get out of your comfort zone, and if Eriksen is now in his comfort zone and don't need to push to get anything, then there is a problem.”
It is claimed that Los Blancos were interested in the player in 2018 but the valuation of €150m meant their interest was discontinued, but this summer Eriksen was said to be priced below €70m, due to his contractual situation.
It had been reported that Spurs supremo Daniel Levy may allow the club to cash-in on the midfielder this summer, to provide funds for squad reinvestment, but no move came to fruition.
Cadena Cope have also had their say – stating that Eriksen is an option but his transfer would be with a view to the 2020/21 campaign, and he will only be signed in January should a player leave the club.
A report in Diario AS in June claimed that there was a ‘verbal agreement’ between the former Ajax playmaker and Madrid.
