Tottenham need to be considering a new contract for Christian Eriksen amid links to the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, says Danny Murphy.
The Danish playmaker has been a model of consistency throughout his time in English football, with a steady stream of goals and assists offered to the Spurs cause.
Eriksen bagged a brace in his latest outing, to secure a 2-1 win over Stoke, with those efforts taking him to a career-best return of 14.
Murphy believes the 26-year-old can now be considered to sit among the European elite and feels Tottenham may need to extend a deal already set to run until 2020 in order to fend off interest from afar.
The former Spurs midfielder told the Evening Standard: “Tottenham's Christian Eriksen is starting to move into the top bracket of playmakers.
“His numbers are very consistent and he is capable of the spectacular, as we saw with his brilliant long-range, dipping goal at Chelsea last weekend as Spurs recorded a first win at Stamford Bridge for 28 years.
“Eriksen is calm on the ball and seems to make the right decisions.
“It is vital that Spurs are able to hang on to him in the long term, which I am confident they will be able to do.
“As good as Eriksen is, who would pay the sort of fee that chairman Daniel Levy is likely to ask for?
“It is worth noting, though, that he has only two years left on his contract so the sooner Spurs agree a new one, the better with the summer transfer window and World Cup on the horizon.”
Eriksen has complemented his 14 goals this season with nine assists across Premier League and Champions League competition.