Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino accepts that Christian Eriksen has the right to ponder a future away from the club.
Eriksen has been one of the star players for Spurs over the last few years as they have challenged at the top end of the Premier League but he is reported to be stalling on a new deal.
He is out of contract in the summer of 2020 but if he does not sign a new deal by the end of this season, Spurs might be forced to listen to offers in order to get true value for the Denmark international.
🎯 @ChrisEriksen8 has scored 19 goals from outside the box in the @premierleague – more than any other player in the competition since his debut in September 2013. 🔥#COYS pic.twitter.com/rOctFfHBTU — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 3, 2019
Eriksen, 26, would not be out of place in any of the top sides in Europe and might be able to earn a lucrative deal elsewhere.
"I'm not a person that suffers too much in this type of situation because football is dynamic," a relaxed Pochettino said ahead of Friday night's FA Cup third round clash at Tranmere.
"Football is about interests that as managers or head coaches we sometimes cannot manage.
"It depends on many things in this business – different parties that have interests.
"Of course Christian Eriksen is such an important player for Tottenham and of course as a person or as a professional coach or manager, you would like to have this type of player with you.
"But in the end it's a negotiation and there's different parties that have different interests.
"It will be fantastic if Christian Eriksen is going to be committed with the club for a long term, and if not it's his right to do what he wants to do.
"He is happy here, he is showing his commitment. Then what is going to happen in between him and the club is not only in our hands."
The futures of several other players are likely to come under the microscope this month as a host of exits are expected.
Outcasts Fernando Llorente, Vincent Janssen and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou are likely to leave the club, but established midfielder Mousa Dembele could also be on his way out.
The Belgium midfielder has only six months left on his current deal and with no new one on the horizon, Spurs could listen to offers in the January transfer window to get some money for him, rather than lose him for free in the summer.
"There is still no news," Pochettino said. "No news, again like Christian Eriksen – a different situation – it is not only in our hands.
"In that business there are different parties that are involved, then it is about to negotiate, to talk, and see what the different parties want.
"I don't know (if he could leave on a free in the summer), that is going to be a club decision, of course involved with the player and the people that are with him. At the moment I don't have any news."
Spurs have been linked with a move for rising Hull star Jared Bowen in the January transfer window, but Pochettino revealed he had not heard of the 22-year-old until speculation arose on Wednesday.
"The first time I heard (about) him was yesterday or before yesterday," Pochettino said. "I heard for the first time yesterday this name. It's like many names that appear in the media – rumours.
"There's many interested in this business. How many players are today in the media that are related with Tottenham, and have been in the past?
"Be careful because hundreds of players were related with the club and then never happened. I think my answer is so clear."
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