Thursday, 18th December, 2014
Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen believes that team-mate Christian Eriksen has the potential to reach the levels of club greats like Paul Gascoigne and Glenn Hoddle.
The 22-year-old has been a revelation for the Lilywhites this season, having scored six goals in 19 matches and has also provided his team-mates with four equally important assists.
Having played together at Ajax, Vertonghen knows Eriksen better than anyone else at White Hart Lane and believes that his countryman has the potential to reach the top of his game soon.
"I've played with him since he was 16 or 17, so probably for six or seven years now. He's improving every season", Vertonghen was quoted as saying by ITV.
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"In the end of his Ajax days, I think they were a bit critical because his stats weren't as good as they should be, they said, but I think he shows now that he can score and get assists as well – and he's a very hard worker.
"He's in first [for training] and he's on the pitch until the last minute and I'm a big fan of his and I'm happy I convinced him to come here."
The 27-year-old also feels that Eriksen is very much capable of reaching the level of some of the club's better players like Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart, Hoddle and Gascoigne, some of whom he had the opportunity to play with and some known to him by their reputation.
"He can reach their level, 100 per cent.
"I know Luka and Rafael better as they're playing in my era, but I know the reputation of Hoddle and Gascoigne.
"I think Christian can be one of the better players Spurs have ever had."
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