Tottenham Hotspur have been blessed with some incredible talents over the last decade or so.
In the early 2010s, fans were treated to arguably one of the best wingers the Premier League has ever seen in Gareth Bale, and then, just a few years later, witnessed the incredible partnership of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min define another era in the club’s storied history.
However, one player who perhaps didn’t get the appreciation he deserved from non-Spurs fans when he was plying his trade in N17 was midfield maestro Christian Eriksen.
The Danish international was an exceptional player for the North Londoners, and while he has never truly been replaced, Ange Postecoglou may now finally have the player destined to do just that.
Eriksen’s Spurs career
In the aftermath of Bale’s record-breaking sale to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013, Tottenham were flush with cash, and while the majority of the ‘magnificent seven’ signed with that cash turned out to be a total waste of money, Eriksen was not.
In his first campaign with the North Londoners following his £11.5m move, the Middlefart-born wizard already looked like one of the best attacking midfielders in the country.
In just 36 appearances across all competitions, he racked up a brilliant haul of ten goals and 11 assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 1.74 games.
This instant adaptation to English football wasn’t a false dawn either, as the 32-year-old would continue to be a sensational player for the Lilywhites across the next five and a half seasons, registering a final haul of 69 goals and 89 assists in 305 games for the club, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 1.94 games.
Moreover, this incredible haul was evidence that while the Danish international was an exceptional creator, he was also more than adept at scoring goals, so when he departed for Inter Milan in January 2020 for just £16.9m, it was a significant hit to the team.
Erisken’s Spurs career | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competition | Games | Goals | Assists |
PL | 226 | 51 | 65 |
UCL | 29 | 5 | 7 |
UEL | 22 | 5 | 5 |
League Cup | 13 | 4 | 4 |
FA Cup | 15 | 4 | 7 |
The club have tried to find his successor in the years since and arguably came closest with James Maddison, but so far, they’ve been unable to find someone as unbelievably talented and consistent as the Dane.
However, that may no longer be the case, as Postecoglou has an up-and-coming young talent in his squad this year, a talent who’s already been dubbed the next Eriksen by those in the know.
Postecoglou’s talent who could be the new Eriksen
Let’s get straight to the point, as while the club now has a number of promising young talents on their books, the player in question is 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall, whom former Spurs scout Bryan King proclaimed “could be the next Christian Eriksen.”
Now, King spent 28 years as a first-team scout, six of which at Tottenham, and on top of focusing on Scandinavian football, he also spent over a decade managing in Norway and Sweden, so to call him an expert on the region’s football would be an understatement.
When comparing the young Swede to the now incredibly experienced Dane, King argued that it was the latter’s quality as a “good passer” and ability to “finish from distance” that made him most similar to the latter, and based on his performances last season, it’s not hard to see what he means.
For example, in 19 games for Swedish side Djurgården, the teenager managed to score six goals and provide five assists for good measure, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 1.72 games and showing he too can be both a scorer of goals as well as a creator.
Moreover, despite still being so young, the “uber-complete” midfielder, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, has already won four caps for the Swedish national team, and considering the calibre of the players currently in the squad, that’s no small feat.
Ultimately, it is probably too early to know whether Spurs genuinely have found their new Eriksen, but based on his promising displays last season and the opinion of a vastly experienced expert in King, the signs are undeniably positive.
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