Thursday 6 April 2017 10:21, UK
After another fine performance from Christian Eriksen in Tottenham’s late turnaround at Swansea, Adam Bate looks at why the Dane might be the most underpraised player in the Premier League…
Which player has created the most chances in the Premier League this season? It's not Eden Hazard and it's not David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne. It's neither Alexis Sanchez nor Mesut Ozil. The man is Christian Eriksen. Highly rated? Yes. But underpraised? Quite possibly.
Eriksen is one behind Ozil as the top chance creator in England over the past three seasons and has fashioned more than twice as many opening as any of his Tottenham team-mates this term. Indeed, the Dane is currently enjoying his best form of his career.
He was pivotal in the late turnaround at Swansea on Wednesday night. A goal down with just minutes left, Eriksen's deflected shot led to the equaliser, his forward pass helped set up the second and he put the gloss on a remarkable win by netting the third himself.
![Tottenham's Christian Eriksen has created the most chances in the Premier League this season [as at April 6th 2017]](https://e0.365dm.com/17/04/768x432/christian-eriksen-tottenham-premier-league-chances-created_3924436.jpg?20170405215805)
It's just the latest in a series of strong displays of late. Eriksen has taken on even greater responsibility since Harry Kane's injury, benefited from a switch to 3-4-3 that gets him into the pockets of space where he can cause even more problems for Spurs' opponents.
Against the Swans, formation changes required him to adjust to a variety of roles but through all of them Eriksen has proven that his creativity and control can be every bit as important to Tottenham as Kane's goals. He has 10 assists already this season.
But it's not just the assists, as shown at Swansea and also in the 2-0 win over Burnley last weekend. Eriksen got the assist for Eric Dier's opener that day but also put Dele Alli away down the right for Heung-Min Son's second. Eriksen plays the pass before the pass too.
It was his threaded ball through to Kane that allowed the striker to set up Son's equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Manchester City in January. "We have an understanding around the 18-yard box about the movements we are going to make," Kane told Sky Sports.
In a team full of youthful endeavour, Eriksen complements those qualities and adds to them too with a cool header and calmer distribution. He is the prompter who can take advantage of Tottenham's willing runners. Kane and Alli appreciate him as much as the manager.
Pochettino praised Eriksen's efforts earlier this year. "He's a very talented player and we're very happy with him," said the Spurs boss. "But he's another player that can improve. In the last few months he's improved a lot. We need to push him to try to get another level."
In the last few months he's improved a lot. We need to push him to try to get another level.
He re-emphasised this point soon after. "He's one of the best creative players in the Premier League. We still need to improve a lot, but the way that we are is perfect personally for him," he said. "We are here to push him to improve every day and achieve a different level."
There are signs that this is happening and such is Pochettino's commitment to hard work, that improvement can be measured in metres as well as goals. Eriksen's tendency to glide across the turf might not mark him out as a workaholic but the stats tell a different tale.
The game at the Liberty Stadium was the second time in a week and the 19th time in Tottenham's last 25 games that Eriksen has covered more ground than any of his team-mates. This is a playmaker who has embraced the Pochettino work ethic.
Like many of his team-mates, he's becoming a better player for it and there remains huge scope there for further improvement. After all, despite Eriksen's obvious responsibility in this team and his vast experience, this is a player who only turned 25 in February.
In other words, he is more than a year younger than Hazard. Younger too than the majority of this Spurs squad. In the win over Manchester City in October, for example, only Erik Lamela - by a fortnight - and Alli on the Tottenham team were younger than Eriksen.
With that in mind, do not be surprised if the Premier League's most creative force could yet go to another level just as Pochettino has suggested. And when that happens, nobody will be able to take the limelight away from Christian Eriksen.
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