Mauricio Pochettino has expressed his confidence that Christian Eriksen will sign a new contract at Tottenham Hotspur, saying that agreement is “just a question of time”.
The Denmark midfielder, who is so fundamental to Pochettino’s team, particularly because of his set-piece deliveries, has been in negotiations over fresh terms for some weeks, with only two years to run on his existing deal.
But the manager suggested he would not be surprised if there was a breakthrough in the coming weeks, saying: “Always, the players are involved in different things but they are very professional. We are very happy with him. We will see what happens in the next few weeks. He has two more years and he is happy here. It’s just a question of time to agree a new contract.”
Pochettino will be without his captain, Hugo Lloris, for Saturday’s Premier League visit of Crystal Palace, after the goalkeeper damaged his hamstring in the season opener at Everton last weekend, which finished in a 1-1 draw.
Lloris played in all seven of France’s Euro 2016 ties, with the last one being the final against Portugal on 10 July, and he barely featured for Tottenham in pre-season. Pochettino hopes that Lloris will be back for his team’s opening Champions League tie on 13 or 14 September. Michel Vorm will deputise.
“It’s always difficult when your captain is off the pitch,” Pochettino said. “But we trust in Michel – he did well during pre-season. He played a lot of friendlies and he’s ready to compete. He has a lot of experience in the Premier League and internationals. There is no doubt about his quality.
“I’m confident Hugo will be back for the Champions League. It’s not a big issue – it’s a minor injury. We’ll see what happens. The good thing is that it’s minor: he’ll be back with the team very soon.”