Mauricio Pochettino has admitted Christian Eriksen may have been affected by the speculation regarding his new Tottenham contract.

Eriksen has finally signed a four-year deal, worth about £75,000 a week, after more than a year of talks.

The Denmark international has made a slow start to the campaign, but Pochettino now expects him to rediscover his form.

The Tottenham manager said: “Perhaps subconsciously, the speculation can affect you when you are in the process of negotiating your future.

“It is not about money. It’s about your future. Sometimes it is difficult but we trust Christian, he is happy to stay and there is no doubt he will improve his performance in the future. If the club give him a better contract, it is because he deserves it.

“For players it is about performances. It is about being focused in training, improving fitness, showing quality, the relationship with your team-mates on the pitch. There is no doubt about Christian’s quality or his skills.

“This contract is important for him and for us. It will stop the rumours and he can be focused only on playing football. This is the last time we will talk about Eriksen’s contract and the rumours.

"It is good for him and the club. We are all happy.”

Tottenham's record signings 10 show all Tottenham's record signings 1/10 Davinson Sanchez - £40m Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 2/10 Moussa Sissoko - £30m Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 3/10 Erik Lamela - £30m Jan Kruger/Getty Images 4/10 Roberto Soldado - £26m Paul Gilham/Getty Images 5/10 Serge Aurier - £23m Getty Images 6/10 Heung-min Son - £22m (Scott Barbour/Getty Images) 7/10 Vincent Janssen - £20m Getty Images 8/10 Paulinho - £17m GETTY 9/10 Luka Modric - £16.5m Michael Steele/Getty Images 10/10 Darren Bent - £16.5m Alex Livesey/Getty Images 1/10 Davinson Sanchez - £40m Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 2/10 Moussa Sissoko - £30m Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 3/10 Erik Lamela - £30m Jan Kruger/Getty Images 4/10 Roberto Soldado - £26m Paul Gilham/Getty Images 5/10 Serge Aurier - £23m Getty Images 6/10 Heung-min Son - £22m (Scott Barbour/Getty Images) 7/10 Vincent Janssen - £20m Getty Images 8/10 Paulinho - £17m GETTY 9/10 Luka Modric - £16.5m Michael Steele/Getty Images 10/10 Darren Bent - £16.5m Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Eriksen is expected to retain his place in the Spurs starting XI at Stoke on Saturday, and Pochettino also expects to welcome back goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Lloris was taken off during the first half of the opening game of the season at Everton, with a hamstring injury. He has not played since but has been declared fit for Stoke.

A damaged hamstring will, however, cause Danny Rose to miss both the Stoke match and the Champions League opener against Monaco at Wembley on Wednesday.

Rose sustained the injury while playing for England in their World Cup qualifying win in Slovakia.