Christian Eriksen needed a table in London, at one of the capital’s hot places, and he needed somebody to help him get it. So the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder turned to a fixer – the Leicester City goalkeeper, and his Denmark team-mate, Kasper Schmeichel. “I needed a table from some of his contacts,” Eriksen says. “I just texted him the other day.”
The exchange, though, quickly came to address the table that consumes them, the one that shows Leicester seven points clear of Tottenham at the top. “I said to him: ‘Good luck winning – or not,’” Eriksen says, with a smile. “And he said the same back.”
It has been like this for a while; whether via messages or face to face on international duty – most recently, when they met up at the end of last month for the friendlies against Iceland and Scotland. To their shared dismay, Denmark did not qualify for Euro 2016. “It was a big, big disappointment,” Eriksen says. “Luckily, it was a while ago now, so it is a little easier to talk about. My head is somewhere else now, luckily.”
Eriksen’s head is on the Premier League title race, which takes Tottenham to Stoke City on Monday night, after Leicester have faced West Ham United at home on Sunday afternoon. Schmeichel, being a Schmeichel, has not been shy in letting his friend know which team has been in charge. But, as Eriksen gives a rare interview to the English press, there are a couple of playful swipes and the sense that he is talking directly to Schmeichel.
Eriksen rewinds to last Sunday when, after Leicester had won at Sunderland, Tottenham were keyed up for their home game against Manchester United. They got to White Hart Lane at 12.30pm, for the 4pm start and the kick-off was then delayed by 30 minutes after the United team bus was stuck in traffic. It was a strange atmosphere early on and Spurs could not get going but they came through in the second half to win 3-0.
“We saw Leicester’s result and we had enough time to think about it when the game was delayed,” Eriksen says. “That was why we were inconsistent in the first 20 minutes but we turned it around. Whatever Leicester do before us, we’ll try to beat that. We did that against Man United and, hopefully, it is making them a bit nervous that we are still there. It is an opportunity for them to play before us but, if they drop points and they see us winning, it would be the total opposite.”
Asked about Schmeichel’s comment from the Friday before last, when he stated that Leicester were not talking about the title, Eriksen says: “When you are that close and are coming from the position they were in, of course they will be looking at the title. Talking to the press, you say things a little differently.”
Eriksen is a laid-back guy and he is supremely relaxed here. The rain is hosing down outside and he notices the ducks that have encroached on to Tottenham’s training complex to take up residence in the pools of standing water. “This is tackle weather,” he says. “We’re going to Japan in the summer with Denmark so, hopefully, there will be lots of sun there.”
With Schmeichel, it is “normal guy banter,” Eriksen says. Who will get to send the last-laugh text? “I hope it’s me,” Eriksen replies. “It’s not like we’re texting each other every week, either. Sometimes, when you need something, you text or, if there’s something in the league, you text. It’s probably funnier to text each other now because of where we are in the league.”
Eriksen is in a good place. His form for Mauricio Pochettino’s team has been excellent, with six league goals and 10 assists, and it is worth noting that only Arsenal’s Mesut Özil has created more chances, according to the Opta statistics. When Pochettino came to the club in 2014, the diminutive Eriksen might have seemed like a loose fit. The manager places an emphasis on physicality and almost all of his best XI are six feet tall or more.
But behind the silky touches, Eriksen has a steely work ethic and the in-house numbers show that he covers the most ground in many matches. This, in a Tottenham team that have run the furthest in the division. Dele Alli’s emergence as a must-pick No10 has forced Pochettino to use Eriksen off the left but he has made it work. “There was a good connection from the beginning [with Pochettino],” Eriksen says.
“He gave me the confidence to play. I’m getting more aggressive but that’s probably just from how he wants us to play. Argentinian people are always a bit more aggressive! I have always been a guy who is running a lot, so the running isn’t that bad. We have the football, as well. It’s not only running and power.”
Eriksen turned 24 in February but he is hardened beyond his years. He made his debut for Ajax at 17, quickly establishing himself and he has long been under the spotlight in Denmark. He won three consecutive Eredivisie titles before his £11m transfer to Spurs in 2013 and he can take particular inspiration from the first of them.
He was playing with Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld – now the central defenders at Tottenham – in an Ajax team that trailed Twente for much of the 2010-11 season. But, on the very last day, they beat Twente to leapfrog them to the top. “I think at one stage, we were 12 points behind,” Eriksen says. “But we came closer and closer, and then we got it. You could see what it meant for the club and it’s a little bit the same here. Of course, it’s much longer for Tottenham since they won the league but at Ajax, you were always used to it and it had been seven years.”
Eriksen played Champions League football for Ajax and he is primed to return to the competition with Tottenham. He has two years to run on his contract and there will be efforts to agree to an extension in the summer but Eriksen can see a bright future. “We have the team to play for the title and, if all the players stay, we can do better next season,” Eriksen says. “We have given a good picture to the world that we are a really strong team and not someone that you just push over.”
