Spurs all of a sudden look toothless and shot-shy - they need Eriksen

A poll of 5,000-plus Tottenham fans last week found 89 per cent would happily take Christian Eriksen back next season — and a few among the 11 per cent may change their minds after this.

Their club have now failed to register a single shot on target in back-to-back games, first against Brighton and then Brentford. Not ideal when you are supposed to be striving for a top-four finish and your north London neighbours are the competition.

Tottenham were crying out for Eriksen, or someone of his ilk, to try to break down an organised Brentford outfit on Saturday. Without that creativity it was all so stale and now it is advantage Arsenal in the race for fourth. Premier League clubs are already in contact with Eriksen’s representatives — ‘several’ according to one person involved in those negotiations — and Tottenham would be silly not to take themselves to the forefront of talks over a free transfer.

Eriksen knows the league, the club and the manager, with whom he spent two years at Inter Milan and won Serie A. Antonio Conte played 3-5-2 and used him as a playmaker beside two hard workers in midfield.

It worked at Inter and it could also work at Tottenham, where Conte has been strictly playing 3-4-3, meaning opponents such as Brentford know precisely what to expect.

When Kane and Son are in sync, they are close to unstoppable. To have someone such as Eriksen behind them, who already knows how they work, would be something worth watching, while Dejan Kulusevski’s knack for running with the ball would make him a useful right wing-back. Tottenham might have their reservations, of course. The re-signing of Gareth Bale was not a roaring success, for example.

Eriksen is 30 and so does not fit their transfer policy of signing for