Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen is among the summer transfer targets for Real Madrid as new manager Zinedine Zidane eyes a summer overhaul at the Bernabeu. The Frenchman returned to the Madrid hotseat earlier this week following the departure of Santiago Solari. Madrid are 12 points off the pace in La Liga and were humiliatingly dumped out of the Champions League by Ajax at the last-16 stage.
They are desperate to add to their squad this summer, with the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard all linked with a move to Spain. According to AS, Eriksen is also among their primary targets.
Tottenham fans were relieved when Madrid chiefs opted to re-appoint Zidane rather than pursue their boss Mauricio Pochettino.
But now, according to the Spanish paper, Spurs face a battle to hold on to their Danish star, who has scored seven goals and racked up 12 assists this season.
Eriksen’s current contract with the club runs until June 2020 and his agent recently played down reports linking the 27-year-old with a move away.
‘Christian only wants to focus himself on football,’ Martin Schoots told ESPN. ‘Besides his technical, tactical and athletic skills, also this attitude has contributed over the years to his impressive transformation from world-class talent to world-class player.’
‘At this moment I would prefer not to join the speculations about contracts and transfers.’ Spirits seemed high as Zidane led his players through their first session at their Ciudad Real Madrid training ground.
He may not be working with this group of players for very long though, based on his comments on Monday. ‘I left the club because I thought the squad needed a change after winning everything,’ he said.
‘I’m back because the president called me. I am happy to be back but it’s a big responsibility because a lot of people love this club. We won the Champions League last season but we lost the league early and the cup too and I was at the controls when those things happened.
‘I know what I did wrong last season and I’m going to do my best to make sure the team does better this time. We have to change things but right now we have time to talk and plan. We have 11 games left.
‘Things are going badly in the league but I was the coach last season and it was the same (in the league).’ Asked if he felt returning was a risk he tapped his chest and said: ‘I’m not thinking about that.
‘My heart says that I have rested and the president calls me and I wanted to come and that’s it. The desire I have is what has brought me here.’