Spurs Look to Steal Ajax Youngster from Rivals - Report

Tottenham Hotspur are on the trail of Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, who plays for Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam. The 20-year-old playmaker is highly rated by Europe's top clubs and there were a number of rumours about his future at the start of the 2012/13 season, with Premier League leaders Manchester United strongly linked. The Red Devils and Spurs aside, defending English champions Manchester City and Liverpool have also expressed interest.

The Amsterdam Arena club have resigned themselves to their star leaving at some point, but are unlikely to part with him in a mid-season window, particularly with the club involved in an exciting five-way fight for the Eredivisie crown this season; Ajax are fourth with 30 points from 15 games and trail leaders FC Twente by only four points.

"Spurs have been strongly sniffing around Eriksen for a while and have already made an enquiry about a January transfer," a source told Goal.com, adding, "It won't happen unless the fee is ridiculously high but they still have a real chance next summer."

Meanwhile, the player himself is believed to favour a move to Spain's La Liga and one of either champions Real Madrid or their rivals Barcelona, although neither of the Spanish giants has made any comment on his interest.

Eriksen is contracted to his club until 2014, which means the Dutch outfit will have the upper hand should they choose to start negotiations next summer. It is unlikely, at this stage, that Eriksen will sign an extension. Ajax's sporting director, Marc Overmars, has confirmed the youngster is not interested but refused to rule out the possibility of further discussions in December. Eriksen, meanwhile, has been quoted as saying he wants to "try something new".

"We want Christian to sign a new deal, but he is not interested," the former Arsenal and Barcelona star explained, adding, "We do have talks planned with him and his agent, so we will have to see what happens..."

Tottenham are currently fourth in the Premier League, with 26 points from 15 games. The White Hart Lane club beat Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage in a weekend fixture, to record a third straight league win.