Big news for Manchester United fans this Tuesday. The club has made an offer to sign Christian Eriksen on a free transfer. According to a report which initially came from The Athletic, Man United are interested in the 30-year-old Dane, after his spell at Brentford.
Eriksen is available to sign on a free transfer as his contract at Brentford expires on 30 June. The Denmark international has had some year, as it was on 12 June 2021 that he was clinically dead for several minutes during the European Championship match between Denmark and Finland. Former Tottenham Hotspur player had to be resuscitated on the pitch and then went straight to hospital, where he recu[areted from his near-death experience. He even had to have a defibrilator surgically inserted in his heart, which was why he was not allowed to play in Italy.
Back then, Eriksen was playing for Inter Milan and following his procedure, it became clear he would have to leave the country if he was to continue his playing career. That is exactly what happened, with Eriksen joining Brentford in the Premier League last January. Eriksen signed a short-term deal, for just six months, and he made an immediate impression.
In the 11 matches Eriksen played for Brentford, the team won seven of them, helping them to an impressive 13th-place finish in their first ever Premier League campaign. Now that he is free to choose the next club, Man United are calling, with Erik ten Hag interested in working with another former Ajax player.
Why Is This A Good Move For United?
Manchester United would be getting a player who is quite experienced in Premier League football and who has played at the highest level. He has a different skillset to those players United already have, as he is a playmaker who can play on the wing and behind the striker as well. His dead-ball qualities are superb and Eriksen could also be used as the cross-first type of creative player from the wing, if that is something Ten Hag finds interesting about him. Another important factor is that Eriksen would be a cheap option for United, as there is no transfer fee to pay. This might sound unimportant, but considering how many players the Red Devils need to bring in this summer in order to be more competitive, it could be a valuable option to save some cash for other deals.
Why Is This A Bad Move For United?
On the other hand, this is the type of transfer everyone would expect of Manchester United, irrelevant of who was the manager at the time. Eriksen is past his peak and while he could be an interesting player for the short-term, he is hardly someone United would be counting on to stay at the very top for many years to come. This move could also make an interesting situation with having both him and Bruno Fernandes in the squad, as two players eager to create themselves. While that is not a problem in itself, it could make it a bit harder to fit them both in the starting lineup, if Ten Hag was to use a 4-3-3 throughout the season. In a 4-2-3-1 system, things would be easier.
Leave a Reply