Tottenham vs Brighton: Christian Eriksen, Spurs' safe-breaker who nearly always saves the day

For a man with his head supposedly already in Madrid, Christian Eriksen didn’t do a bad job of hiding it. As his 25-yard shot hit the net, Eriksen was already wheeling away towards the corner flag, roaring in triumph, daring the delirious Spurs fans in the South Stand to question his commitment.

Eriksen’s 88th-minute winning goal against a cussedly defiant Brighton side was just his latest decisive contribution in the dying minutes. There was the 1-0 win over Burnley at Wembley just before Christmas, sealed in the first minute of injury time. And while Tottenham are preparing for a Champions League semi-final against Ajax next week, they may never have made it out of the group phase had Eriksen not popped up to bundle in the winner with 10 minutes left against Inter Milan.

“It was just patience,” he said. “Building. Trying to create something literally out of nowhere. In the end, it’s about taking the chances you get.”

Perhaps it was just coincidence that Eriksen has been Tottenham’s safe-breaker in so many of these tight games against packed defences, when Spurs are struggling to convert their dominance into wins. Then again, it’s Eriksen who seems to have a better idea than anyone how to negotiate these situations. Creating something literally out of nowhere is, in many ways, his calling card. Or as Danny Rose put it: “We knew it was going to be one of those games where we depend on our flair players to make something happen.”

And yet for all Tottenham’s dominance - Jan Vertonghen completed almost as many passes (96) as the entire Brighton team put together (102) - it was a win that raised as many questions as it answered. Why do Tottenham struggle so often to break down lower-ranked teams at home? Why does the creative burden seem to fall so often on Eriksen? And - perhaps most portentously of all - how on earth will Tottenham cope if the Dane leaves in the summer?

Mauricio Pochettino was making positive noises after the game about Eriksen’s protracted contract negotiations, claiming that both sides were “open to talk”. Yet equally, the situation has now remained unresolved for over six months. Eriksen is out of contract next summer. There are no guarantees that he will stay at the club beyond this summer. And thus Spurs may well be in the position of having to perform major surgery on their squad whilst also labouring under a debt burden of around £600 million on their new stadium.

Successive transfer windows of inaction - a more loaded term might be neglect - have left worrying holes in the squad. Mousa Dembele is yet to be adequately replaced in central midfield. A new centre-half is required if, as expected, Toby Alderweireld leaves in the summer. Neither right-back currently looks up to scratch, and the sight of Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen playing in tandem at the end of the game may well encourage Pochettino to seek a new back-up striker as well.

It is to the credit of Pochettino, as well as Tottenham’s A-list players, that despite such flaws they have managed to maintain a robust challenge on both major fronts. But they need help. They need more creativity in the centre, more pace in wide areas, more competition for places, fresh faces to raise standards. Throw in the potential departure of Eriksen, and you have a long - and ruinously expensive - shopping list.

Perhaps the one saving grace for Tottenham is that, with three points over Brighton, their place in the top four looks almost secure. Their superior goal difference over the teams below them means that two wins from their last three games - home to West Ham, away to Bournemouth, home to Everton, all three teams safely in mid-table - will virtually guarantee them a spot. Which is just as well. Attracting A-list players to Tottenham is a hard enough task even with Champions League football. Missing out would make it virtually impossible.