Eriksen has told Mourinho he won’t be staying. So is a move to Manchester United realistic?

Had talks gone differently in the summer, Christian Eriksen could have been at Old Trafford on Wednesday night as the key creator in Manchester United’s midfield. Instead, he will likely be on Tottenham’s bench.

Jose Mourinho did not use Eriksen at all against Bournemouth last weekend and understanding that decision, after the Danish international had arrived as a substitute to help turn the game Tottenham’s way against Olympiakos, is aided by knowing the outcome of the pair’s recent meeting.

The new Spurs manager made finding out Eriksen’s intentions a priority after taking over from Mauricio Pochettino. He sought to ascertain whether he could present a compelling case for Eriksen to stay at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium beyond the end of his contract next summer.

But sources have told The Athletic that Eriksen definitively told Mourinho he wished to pursue a new challenge after six years in north London. Eriksen is understood to respect Mourinho but the former United manager’s arrival has not altered his personal picture.

A source with knowledge of the pair’s discussions described the meeting as “productive” with a common understanding agreed and Mourinho has said: “I’m not going to tell you what we said. Just me and him — and Amazon. He’s committed, loves the club and is one of us.”

Eriksen will continue to give his all for Spurs but given his ultimate ambitions lie elsewhere, it seems clear Mourinho would prefer to use other players. Dele Alli has been rejuvenated in the No 10 role in recent weeks, while Eric Dier, Harry Winks, and Tanguy Ndombele will probably rotate in the deeper midfield roles.

Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko have started on the right wing — with Son Heung-min on the left — in Mourinho’s three games so far and Eriksen’s appearance from the 29th minute against Olympiakos, at the expense of Dier, was due to a special set of circumstances. Trailing 2-0, Mourinho sent on Eriksen in an advanced midfield role to form creative triangles in search of a victory. And it worked. Eriksen set up Harry Kane for Tottenham’s fourth with a deep free-kick.

But prior to that, Eriksen only played the last 11 minutes during Mourinho’s first game in charge against West Ham last month, so it will be intriguing to see if he gets any time against the side who tried to sign him during the last window. Indeed, the situation raises the prospect that talks between United, Spurs, and Eriksen could reopen in January, although there are a number of factors to consider.

Despite a United delegation going to London to attempt a deadline deal, Eriksen’s inclination to see if Real Madrid might enter the bidding meant negotiations ended. That hesitation is said to have cooled Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s interest a little too, given he has built his transfer strategy on signing players eager to move to United.

Still, United could certainly have used someone of Eriksen’s gifts this season, particularly with Paul Pogba being out for so long.

Against Aston Villa, Fred, Andreas Pereira, and Juan Mata was a midfield trio woefully short of required levels and Eriksen, aged 27, would be a clear upgrade. He has far better craft on the ball than Pereira and a much better engine than Mata. Eriksen created 73 chances last season, ranking eighth in the Premier League. By way of comparison Pogba, registered 55 as United’s top performer in that metric.

Despite an apparent preference for Real, Eriksen is said to have an attraction to the scale of United as one of the biggest clubs in the world, so Ed Woodward would not be irrational to ask the question again.

Eriksen might well conclude his best move is to wait until the summer, when he could command higher wages as a free agent at a Champions League club, but it is understood he places huge stock in playing football regularly, so his game time between now and January 31 — and the projection for the rest of the campaign — would be a consideration, especially as he will want to have a good rhythm going into Euro 2020.

Real’s intentions likewise. Having shied away from making a bid last summer, will they do so now amid all the uncertainty at the Bernabeu and would Eriksen play frequently there? As an alternative, Juventus sent a scout to watch his performance at Liverpool in October, so they cannot be discounted either.

Finally, and crucially, there is the Spurs perspective. More specifically, Daniel Levy’s perspective. Two years ago, when Eriksen first stalled on a new contract, Levy was known to have calculated it served the club better to keep him for longer and lose him for nothing rather than sell for a lesser fee earlier.

But last summer, that stance had shifted somewhat and the asking price was communicated as somewhere around £70-80 million. It will be drastically reduced next month, with any potential buyer effectively paying for a six-month loan.

Industry sources suggest a £25 million fee would be reasonable and also speculate that Levy might be especially compelled to strike a deal as the clock ticks down to deadline, with the prospect of losing an asset for nothing coming closer to realisation.

Eriksen is said to earn around £80,000 per week and United could, for instance, double that without disrupting their wage structure.

It is also conceivable that a deal for Eriksen could be arranged which involved Nemanja Matic moving the other way. The imposing Serbia midfielder played under Mourinho at both Chelsea and Old Trafford but has started only two league matches for Solskjaer this season, and has been an unused substitute on six occasions in the Premier League.

It will be interesting to see how hard United are willing to push.