Christian Eriksen admits to enduring the “hardest time” of his spell at Tottenham, but insists the exit talk which continues to rage around him is not responsible for a dip in form.
The Denmark international is far from the only Spurs star to have seen their standards slip this season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have suffered wobbles at home and abroad, with frustrating Premier League setbacks standing alongside a humbling 7-2 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.
It has been suggested that there are too many distractions for the north London side at present, with contracts running down and transfer speculation being sparked.
Eriksen is among those heading towards free agency, but says he has grown accustomed to ignoring gossip.
He told Ekstra Bladet of the rumours and how they are impacting the Spurs squad: “It doesn’t matter at all. Everyone is professional and in all clubs there is talk of players going away.
“That side of the matter has no bearing on how we have performed so far this season.
“If I, as a football player, took all the rumours to me, I would float on a cloud. But I know that it can’t all be true.
“It does not affect me what is written.”
Getty ImagesWhile able to turn a deaf ear to the transfer talk, Eriksen admits that he has found the going tough in 2019-20.
Questions have been asked of his value on a regular basis, with a once consistent performer doing little at present to aid the Tottenham cause or his own claims to a move elsewhere.
The 27-year-old, who has been with Spurs since 2013, added: “It's definitely my hardest time right now at Tottenham.
“The first year when I came was probably a bit up and down, but since Pochettino came in 2014 it has been a success story.
“Expectations for us are at a completely different level now. We have to win every time and it's the same feeling we have as players as well.
“We as players must try to keep all the negative things completely out. But the reason for our results is actually hard to answer. We can't close the matches, even though we are ahead. But we have also been unlucky.”
Spurs have taken 11 points from eight Premier League games so far, leaving them ninth in the table, while a solitary draw with Olympiakos is all they have to show for their efforts across two European outings.