Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen wishes that transfers in the real world worked like in Football Manager after failing to seal a summer move.

The Denmark international is in the final year of his contract with Tottenham and will be free to sign a pre-contract with any suitors on 1 January.

‘I wish I could decide just like in Football Manager, but unfortunately I can’t,’ Eriksen told Danish publication Ekstra Bladet.

The midfielder spoke out earlier this summer about being ready to ‘try something new’, with Real Madrid understood to be his preferred destination.

When asked whether that comment was a mistake in retrospect, Eriksen said: “No, it wasn’t. But it is football and you never know what happens in football. Many things always come into play.

‘To me it is not difficult to clear my head. I don’t read much of what is written.

‘And now I have been involved for many years, where there have been many rumours every year. But it’s clear that it’s been a little more fierce this year because my contract is about to expire.

‘I know a lot of people are interested in where I want to play. That’s the way it is. This is how it is in a top club if you have done well. There will always be rumours.’