As far as new signings go, many of the players Erik ten Hag has brought in this summer have made instant impacts and Christian Eriksen is one of them.
The former Brentford star joined the Reds on a free transfer in July but the expectation was that he would provide cover for Bruno Fernandes, who plays in Eriksen’s preferred role.
Ten Hag had other plans for the 30-year-old, however, using him as a deep-lying playmaker. A regista, if you will. He is already one of the first names on the teamsheet and fans have even compared him to legendary midfielder Paul Scholes, a comparison Eriksen has now delivered his own verdict on.
“It’s football in a nutshell and shows how fast it is,” Eriksen told Politiken, via Sport Witness, on the rapidly changing narratives in the press.
“Of course, it is great to be compared to them, but you create your own ways and your own name. I was lucky that I managed to play against Paul Scholes. He was a good player, so I’m happy to be compared to him.
Read more: Every Manchester United player to be called up for international duty
“Like everyone else, I’ve previously been one of those sitting and reading about what happened in United. It is a huge club, and no one in the world does not know about the brand United.”
“You can see how much is being written. Stories about one and the other, both for good and evil. When you are part of it, you find out what is true and what is not true. What to trust and what not to trust.”
Eriksen has built an unlikely partnership with Scott McTominay at the heart of Ten Hag’s side and the pair are currently keeping Casemiro, the big-money signing, on the bench.
SN’s verdict…
I don’t think many fans were expecting Eriksen to grow into such an integral figure at all, nevermind after just over a month of the Premier League season.
Ten Hag’s reliance on Eriksen is telling. He has started all eight games across two competitions and clearly, there’s not a like-for-like replacement at the club.
His minutes will need to be monitored, however. An injury at this stage of the season could be catastrophic for United and their positive form.
Indeed he is good