Late Christian Eriksen show re-enforces his importance to Tottenham

It's been another promising season for Tottenham Hotspur under Mauricio Pochettino, with the North Londoners looking in great shape to secure Champions League qualification for 2019/20. Spurs are currently in third position, four points above rivals Arsenal and have some decent looking fixtures to come.

Tottenham have finished in the top four in each of the last three seasons and their hopes of doing so this year were boosted dramatically on Tuesday night when they defeated Brighton at their fantastic new stadium.

It was a tense affair between two sides fighting for very different things at opposite ends of the table and as the game dragged on it looked like Spurs were going to drop points for the first time since moving to their new home, only to be saved by the magnificent Christian Eriksen.

The Great Dane has a reputation for producing on the big stage and he saved Spurs with a magnificent left footed strike to raise the roof and strengthen Tottenham's grip on third place. It had been a frustrating night for Spurs but to win in that manner will do their confidence wonders going into their clash with West Ham and that colossal Champions League semi-final with Ajax next Tuesday.

With top scorer Harry Kane out the side the onus is on others to step up to the plate, something which Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min have done so to great effect. But one who does go under the radar slightly at times is Eriksen. Now at the age of 27, the Denmark international is at the peak of his powers and he is absolutely imperative to how Pochettino's side functions.

The Argentine is a massive fan of his and he'll be fully aware of Eriksen's current contract situation. This summer he'll enter the final twelve months of his deal and huge clubs such as Real Madrid have been linked with a potential move for him, which if true will make it very difficult to retain his services.

His consistent brilliance makes him a must for this Tottenham team and it's absolutely imperative that they tie him down to a new deal, which if successful is expected to double his current £75k per-week contract.

In terms of consistency, there's few players who can match what Eriksen has done in the Premier League since making his £11.5m move from Ajax back in 2013. He joined during a summer of upheaval at the club which saw star man Gareth Bale sold to Real Madrid for a world record £85m, funding 7 new transfers which included Roberto Soldado (£30m) and Paulinho (£25m).

The majority of those new arrivals flopped but Eriksen, one of the cheaper signings, has absolutely flourished. Comfortable playing anywhere across the midfield, we've seen the 27 year-old play as an 8, 10 and even from the left, such is his technical ability.

The arrival of Mauricio Pochettino as manager back in 2014 was a huge moment in the clubs recent history and the Argentine has played a major role in Eriksen's development into one of the Premier League's and Europe's elite creators.

In each of the last four seasons Eriksen has recorded double figures for assists and since joining he has a massive 60 to his name, along with scoring an impressive 48 goals - making him the highest scoring Dane in PL history.

His ability to find that killer pass makes him one of Tottenham's biggest weapons and his relationship with Harry Kane in particular has led to a shed load of goals. The England skipper is another who's taken his game to a new level since the arrival of Pochettino and it must be a dream to play alongside Eriksen who has that ability to find him from pretty much anywhere on the pitch.

So it comes as no surprise to see the likes of Real Madrid reportedly in the hunt for his services. They're going through one of their worst ever seasons and a massive spending spree is set to begin this summer as they bid to challenge for both La Liga and the Champions League again under Zinedine Zidane.

When a player as good as Christian Eriksen enters the final twelve months of their deal there's always going to be plenty of interest, so Tottenham really have a fight on their hands to keep one of their star men.

Any player in world football would find it immensely difficult to turn down a move to the likes of Real Madrid so it won't be easy to keep him. But with Pochettino at the helm, Tottenham are clearly a club on the up. The Argentine has turned them into one of the one of the most consistent sides in the Premier League since his arrival, all that they're lacking is silverware.

It's now been 11 years since their League Cup triumph over Chelsea and the club are in the best shape they've ever been in to end that baron run. It looks like they're going to accumulate a similar points total to last year in the league but where they've really come up trumps this season is the Champions League.

They have a first ever semi-final against Ajax to look forward to next Tuesday, giving them a fantastic opportunity to reach the final where they'd face one of Liverpool or Barcelona. Going all the way won't be easy but doing so could play a massive part in Eriksen staying and really putting Spurs on the map as one of the continents top clubs.

There's exciting times ahead for sure, their run in Europe coupled with the long awaited opening of their magnificent new stadium will make them an extremely attractive proposition for any player. But one concern for Spurs fans would be the current financial situation, their new home went massively over budget and there are fears that Daniel Levy could be forced to sell off a big name or two in order to pay that off, along with adding new faces.

Spurs didn't make any new signings last summer and Pochettino has made it very clear that he needs resources if he's to take Spurs to the next level and challenge Liverpool & Manchester City for the Premier League title. Making a couple of high profile signings would really boost the morale around the club and definitely give Eriksen more reasons to sign on.

Tottenham are a completely different club to the one that the 27 year-old originally joined and it would be a massive statement of intent if they could tie him down for the best years of his career. But for the time being, he has a major part to play in what could be an absolutely magnificent end to the campaign.