Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen faces missing out on a move to Real Madrid because of the form of Federico Valverde, according to The Sun.
The Danish playmaker is out of contract at Spurs at the end of the season and told native newspaper Ekstra Bladet he was ready for a new challenge.
The 27-year-old remained at Spurs beyond the close of the summer transfer window, but AS reported that Real would swoop for him in January at a knockdown £30m fee, to avoid a bidding war with other clubs later on.
However, The Sun now understands that Madrid may shelve a move for Eriksen altogether because of Valverde’s impact at the start of the season.
The 21-year-old was not expected to feature much for Zinedine Zidane upon returning from his loan spell at Deportivo La Coruna, but injuries to Luka Modric and others have given him the opportunity to impress, and he has.
The Sun adds that Valverde is now viewed as the long-term replacement for Modric, and bringing in Eriksen could potentially block his development.