8.30pm Tottenham news LIVE: Eriksen DID give Vertonghen black eye, Alli dropped by England, Kane and – The Sun, Thesun.co.uk

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN was the man behind Tottenham team-mate’s Jan Vertonghen’s mystery black eye – but it had nothing to do with rumors of a bust-up between the pair.

Spurs midfielder Eriksen took to social media yesterday to rubbish the internet lies claiming Vertonghen bedded his girlfriend.

But The Sun can reveal the Danish midfielder did leave his pal with a shiner after an “accidental” training ground collision.

That incident is said to be completely “unconnected to the traumatic rumors swirling online”.

They had claimed that married Vertonghen, 32, had slept with with Eriksen’s partner Sabrina Kvist – sparking a dressing room bust-up involving England captain Harry Kane.

A message that circulated online said: “Half of the players not talking to each other.

“Pochettino unable to resolve the situation, likely to join Real Madrid in the summer and take Eriksen with him and possibly Kane.”

But both players have rubbished the talk, with Eriksen saying in a tweet that the claims were “bulls ** t”.

THE Alli data has lost its bite.

Dele Alli’s stats show why Spurs fans, pundits and now England manager Gareth Southgate have noted a sharp decline from golden boy to injury-hit top of the flops.

Midfielder Alli was hauled off as Tottenham’s’ early-season woes peaked with Tuesday’s 7-2 home humiliation by Bayern Munich and then left out of Southgate’s squad for two Euro 2020 qualifiers next week.

And the 23 – year-old’s Tottenham figures since the start of last term highlight why social media has been blitzed with comments like: “Dele Alli is done” and “ Can someone tell me the last time he had a good game ”.

Alli’s goalscoring has fallen steeply from a stunning 22 in 46 starts in 2016 – 17 and 14 from 42 the following term – with just seven in his 38 games since then, including only one this calendar year.

His total of assists and overall chances created have also both halved since 2017 – 18.

DANIEL LEVY took a “massive gamble” by tying Moussa Sissoko down at Tottenham until he is 34.

The Spurs chairman handed his French midfielder a new four-year contract, worth a reported £ 90, 000 per week.

But ex-Leeds and Coventry striker Noel Whelan is unconvinced.

He told Football Insider: “Usually a player who has turned 30 at Tottenham will get a two-year deal, or a three-year max. A four-year deal is a massive gamble from Levy.

“He is normally so cautious over contracts and transfers, generally.

“On the one hand, it is fantastic news for the player, but on the other hand it is a big risk. Take nothing away from his performances, he has been transformed in the last year.

“He is a massive player in that that team and Tottenham know they have a real player on their hands. But whether he will be the same at 32, 33 is a different matter. ”

THE prestige of playing in the Champions League also comes with the prospect of pocketing an absolute fortune.

Uefa generously pay clubs £ 2.4m each for a win in the group stage alone.

Man City have so far earned £ 4.8m after winning their opening two matches.

Liverpool and Chelsea have both picked up one win while Spurs have only made £ 900, 000 following their draw against Olympiakos.

Clubs that manage to qualify for the round of 16 will earn £ 8.4m and that increases to another £ 9m in the quarter-finals .

Qualification to the final four earn £ 10. 6m while the two clubs that reach the final pocket £ 13. 35 M.

There is an extra £ 3.5m on offer for the winners of the competition.

IT IS not just Spurs’ English players called up for international duty.

Ben Davies is in Ryan Giggs’ Wales squad for their fixtures against Slovakia and Croatia.

And trio Hugo Lloris, Tanguy Ndombele and Moussa Sissoko are all going to team up with their French counterparts next week.