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'Nearly impossible' for Eriksen to leave - Pochettino

Cape Town - Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is almost certain that midfielder Christian Eriksen won't depart the north London outfit.

The transfer window for Premier League clubs closed earlier this month but the European deadline is on Monday, meaning there is still a chance Eriksen could leave without Spurs being able to bring in a replacement.

Denmark international Eriksen is due to fall out of contract next summer and so far, Spurs have been unable to convince him to sign a new deal.

Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Juventus have been linked with Eriksen at various stages throughout the summer, but Spanish giants Real Madrid are rated as the most likely club to come forward with a late offer for the playmaker.

Clubs in La Liga have until 23:00 on Monday to bring in reinforcements and Pochettino faces an anxious wait to discover if he will still have Eriksen at his disposal, until January at least, but the Spurs boss remains confident the midfielder won't move on.

Eriksen started and scored the opener in Tottenham's 2-2 north London derby draw at Arsenal on Sunday and Pochettino feels a move away is now unlikely for the former Ajax man.

"Eriksen had a big performance," the Argentine manager told the BBC. "His mind was clear that he wanted to play. It's nearly impossible for something to happen [with a transfer tomorrow], that's why it was clear."

"I think it was a great game for both sides. I think we did very well, and we were very solid and created a lot of chances. In the first half, it was a great 45 minutes and I was a little bit ashamed to concede before half-time.

"We have massive quality and from tomorrow [when the transfer window shuts] we will all be on the same page. With Christian Eriksen, we have to wait but it shows it was the right decision to play him. He showed a great performance and helped the team to get a point here."

If Eriksen does remain in north London, Spurs will be desperate to tie him down to a new deal in the months ahead before the January transfer window opens.

If his contract situation isn't resolved by the time the winter window opens it will leave the club with a tough decision - keep hold of Eriksen and risk losing him as a free agent next summer or sell to a potential Champions League or Premier League rival in the middle of the season.

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