The Denmark midfielder has impressed at Brentford after recovering from his on-pitch cardiac arrest at Euro 2020
(Image credit: Getty)
Incoming Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reportedly wants to sign Christian Eriksen on a free transfer when his Brentford deal expires this summer.
The Dutch boss will depart Ajax to replace Ralf Rangnick in the Old Trafford dugout at the end of the season, and he's already busy looking at potential transfer targets.
According to the Star, Ten Hag was impressed by Eriksen when the playmaker spent time training with Ajax earlier this season before signing a six-month deal at the Brentford Community Stadium.
The 30-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 last summer, and trained with his former club in the Netherlands as part of his recovery.
Ten Hag liked what he saw and is eager to have Eriksen with him in Manchester, but Antonio Conte, the Dane’s former boss from his time at Inter Milan, is interested in bringing him back to Tottenham.
Eriksen spent seven-and-a-half years with Spurs before leaving for Italy in January 2020, where he won the Serie A title under Conte.
(Image credit: PA)
He departed the Nerazzurri in December due to league rules in Italy that forbid footballers from playing with the ICD device that Eriksen had implanted following his on-pitch collapse at the Euros.
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Eriksen then joined Brentford in January and made a hugely impressive return to top-flight football under Thomas Frank.
He scored his first goal for the club in a stunning 4-1 win over Chelsea at the start of April, and has also provided two assists in his seven Premier League appearances so far.
With Eriksen in the starting line-up, Brentford have won five games and drawn one to climb into mid-table safety.
He could now have a big decision to make over whether to join Ten Hag’s new era at the struggling Red Devils, or reunite with Conte at his former club in north London.
Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.
