Christian Eriksen was one of Manchester United’s outstanding players in the first half of the season, with the Danish international widely impressing before his season was almost ended due to a serious ankle injury.
Eriksen sustained the injury following a reckless tackle in the January FA Cup tie against Reading and at first, it seemed like his campaign could have been over there and then. Thankfully, he recovered quickly and recently made his return to the pitch.
Eriksen has forged a brilliant understanding with fellow summer signing Casemiro at the heart of the United midfield and speaking recently, he has opened up on how his move to the club came about in the first place.
Eriksen had spent the second half of the 2021/22 season at Brentford after recovering from the catastrophic cardiac arrest he suffered at the European Championship the previous year.
Against all odds, he returned to the Premier League and performed like he never left. He did, however, only sign a six-month deal with the Bees and when it became clear that his traumatic event had very little effect on his performances, clubs were swarming to sign him up.
“Well, I ended up being at Brentford until the summer, obviously and the contract was running out,” Eriksen told the UTD Podcast.
“So I was free to talk to other clubs and I kept my possibilities open.
“At the time, I wasn’t closed down on going back to Brentford, I wanted to see what else came in or [if] something could tempt me away from how good it was there. And then, of course, United came in.
“[I was] speaking to the manager on the phone and then I could actually see myself going to United. Luckily, they pulled through [to make the move] and I did as well.
“So, in the end, coming here was definitely very special.”
SN’s verdict…
Ten Hag’s humane touch when it comes to recruitment has emerged on a number of occasions now, with similar stories being told about Lisandro Martinez’s move from Ajax.
Luckily, the Dutchman was able to convince Eriksen to join the club and thus far, the midfielder has certainly repaid the faith shown in him.
United are set for a gruelling final six weeks of the season and Eriksen will be vital in that, with the Reds still chasing another two trophies after picking up the Carabao Cup in February.
