Christian Eriksen could prove to be Manchester United’s shrewdest piece of business for years. The club snapped him up on a free transfer earlier this month after the Dane impressed during his brief spell at Brentford.
Official confirmation of his move was delayed but he has finally completed the long-awaited transfer and earlier on Saturday, he featured in Red for the first time.
Eriksen was a second-half substitute against Atletico Madrid and although the game ended in defeat for United, the 30-year-old oozed class from the second he was introduced.
It can be argued that better finishes could have earned him two assists on his United bow. Eriksen served Harry Maguire and Anthony Elanga with perfect crosses but neither player found the net. Now, the latter has praised his new teammate after inspecting him in training.
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“Yeah, you can see even in training, his little touches and the way he scans around the pitch,” Elanga told MUTV after the game, according to the Manchester Evening News.
“He’s a top, top player to work with and really good to play with. You can see his quality on the pitch and I’m sure this season the fans will see more and more of him.”
SN’s verdict…
Bruno Fernandes has been United’s only creative spark for far too long now and Eriksen’s arrival will ease that burden on the Portuguese maestro. It was only a 25-minute cameo but Eriksen’s appearance in Oslo spoke volumes.
His six-and-a-half-year stay at Tottenham is often forgotten and following his incident at last summer’s European Championship, he looks completely reborn.
Erik ten Hag was desperate to add him to the squad and the Old Trafford faithful will be desperate to see him in action at the Theatre of Dreams. That day could come sooner than originally thought.
Eriksen played for just 25 minutes against Atletico Madrid, which means that another cameo could be in line for Sunday’s game against Rayo Vallecano.