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Christian Eriksen: Manchester United interested in Denmark midfielder

By Simon StoneBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Man Utdcomments1411

Manchester United hope to persuade Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen to join them before the new season.

It was thought the 30-year-old would prefer to remain in London after making a successful comeback with Brentford in the second half of last season.

The Bees hoped Eriksen would stay on while it was thought Tottenham Hotspur were also keen to re-sign him.

However a deal has not been agreed with either club, giving United the chance to make an offer for the free agent.

Eriksen had cardiac arrest while playing at Euro 2020 last June but was able to resume his career after being fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD).

After being released by Inter Milan - because the ICD device is not permitted in Serie A - Eriksen accepted Brentford's offer of a six-month contract in January and manager Thomas Frank repeatedly said the Bees wanted to keep the former Ajax playmaker.

Eriksen left Tottenham for Inter in January 2020, helping them win the Serie A title in 2020-21 under current Spurs boss Antonio Conte.

Before he made his return to competitive football by joining Brentford, Conte said "the door is always open" to him training with Tottenham.

Manchester United's move for Eriksen is unrelated to their continued efforts to sign Frenkie de Jong, with the Old Trafford club in contact with Barcelona about his availability.

Erik ten Hag has made the 25-year-old Netherlands midfielder his main summer transfer target but De Jong, who played for United's new manager at Ajax, went on holiday without making a decision over his future.

Last year Barca announced they were 1.35bn euros (£1.15bn) in debt, so the Spanish club are trying to generate revenue for their own squad rebuilding plans and De Jong is viewed as one of their most saleable assets.

Ideally, Ten Hag would get clarity over both situations before his non-international players return for the start of pre-season training next Monday.

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1411 comments

  • Comment posted by Jonny, at 10:42 21 Jun

    Why take a step down from Brentford?

    • Reply posted by Neutral fan, at 11:09 21 Jun

      Neutral fan replied:
      A step down?
      Any chance you can explain that in more detail?

  • Comment posted by Ebo, at 10:31 21 Jun

    For me he is welcome to join Leeds utd but if I was him I would stick with Brentford who gave him a chance when nobody else would.

    • Reply posted by JuliusCaesarWasASocialist, at 10:47 21 Jun

      JuliusCaesarWasASocialist replied:
      He doesn't owe Brentford FC a a single thing.

  • Comment posted by Andrew Clavin, at 10:26 21 Jun

    Playing there?hasn't he been through enough!?
    Show some loyalty to the club that gave you a chance when others didn't.

    • Reply posted by GazCFC, at 10:29 21 Jun

      GazCFC replied:
      Totally agree but money talks

  • Comment posted by Titter Ye Not, at 10:24 21 Jun

    This is just gossip.

    Man Utd being linked to everyone under the sun including my nan.

    • Reply posted by secretsquirell, at 10:27 21 Jun

      secretsquirell replied:
      can she play defensive midfield?

  • Comment posted by Joe, at 10:28 21 Jun

    Man Utd have a transfer strategy like a greedy kid collecting panini stickers without an album to stick them in.

    • Reply posted by D2501, at 10:38 21 Jun

      D2501 replied:
      You mean the press says we do and you believe them.

  • Comment posted by markyc, at 10:18 21 Jun

    At least he s better than Pogba

    • Reply posted by NPAUL, at 10:32 21 Jun

      NPAUL replied:
      My granny's dead cat is better than pogba

  • Comment posted by blue, at 10:37 21 Jun

    Where were UTD when Brentford the only club to take a gamble & gave him a chance to re-start his career

    • Reply posted by Liverpallblackcaps, at 10:56 21 Jun

      Liverpallblackcaps replied:
      Well they watched him for half a season and he didn’t drop dead so now they’re interested. I read elsewhere he doesn’t want to go to ManU anyway so this is probably just a BBC fairytale.

  • Comment posted by cuddlesthekillerwhale, at 10:45 21 Jun

    Eriksson clearly wants to play, otherwise he'd have packed it in after the heart scare.
    Therefore he needs a club where he will be a regular starter rather than a squad player.
    I would advise him to stick with Brentford.

    • Reply posted by Mike Torrinos Cellphone Battery, at 12:02 21 Jun

      Mike Torrinos Cellphone Battery replied:
      Manchester United want to get back to the top, so does Eriksson. Personally I agree, stay at Brentford, but the chance to be a part of helping United get back to challenging for trophies might be more alluring. Plus he only signed short term for Brentford, so I think both parties knew he'd likely move on.

  • Comment posted by YorkshireCam, at 10:26 21 Jun

    Don't waste the rest of our career going to Man Utd!

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:39 21 Jun

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      Apart from Ronaldo who is a freak. Can you name another player who has been a success at Man United who left and then became success at another club

  • Comment posted by dg, at 10:40 21 Jun

    The glazers will be taking their dividends this week, thats the only certainty at Utd these days.

    • Reply posted by The Spin Doctor, at 13:44 21 Jun

      The Spin Doctor replied:
      Exactly, the half year profits is all the Glazers care about.
      As for Eriksen, why does hecwsnt to go to a trophy free zone, other than for purely money reasons?
      Thought Eriksen would be smarter than this.

  • Comment posted by Jiggery Pokery, at 11:00 21 Jun

    With respect...

    It's advisable, never to read too much...

    Into a Simon Stone "mega utd fanboy" article...

    The truth is normally the main casualty...

    Fantasy generally appears to be the over-riding constant...

    Isn't it.

    • Reply posted by Vlad the Inhaler, at 12:06 21 Jun

      Vlad the Inhaler replied:
      I'm liking what I read,
      And I'm 100% agreed
      That Stone's yarns on Man U
      Are not completely true.
      But if you're looking advice...
      (And I'm only being nice) -
      To make it worth your time
      You've got to make it rhyme!

  • Comment posted by BBC admin, at 10:29 21 Jun

    Great player, much better than anything Man U have at the moment (Ronaldo excluded)

    But he is far too humble and not arrogant enough to join Man U.
    For that reason, he wouldn't fit in with the club culture.

    • Reply posted by cb, at 12:22 21 Jun

      cb replied:
      Totally agree. Didn't Eriksen say he wanted to live in London & play Champions League, so where does Man U fit that?

  • Comment posted by Liverpallblackcaps, at 10:53 21 Jun

    I just read somewhere else he has rejected ManU’s advances and would prefer to stay at Brentford or go to Tottenham. This seems more likely to me than this rubbish story.

    • Reply posted by sickbeggar, at 10:57 21 Jun

      sickbeggar replied:
      Yep . I can't see Arnold sanctioning this unless he's moved house in the last week and the fans can't find him

  • Comment posted by Ben, at 10:18 21 Jun

    Why leave one mid-table club to move to another?

    • Reply posted by squealing suki, at 10:27 21 Jun

      squealing suki replied:
      Did Alex ever apologise?

  • Comment posted by JimmyTheBrain, at 10:37 21 Jun

    Talented player and almost any club would like him, but given United's biggest issues are the back four and defensive midfield, he isn't anything like the solution to the problem.

    • Reply posted by Ook the Librarian, at 10:47 21 Jun

      Ook the Librarian replied:
      Exactly ... Unless they are going to adopt the Fat Les approach and score one more than you?

  • Comment posted by Tim, at 10:35 21 Jun

    I feel so sorry for Eriksen. What a move downward in his career. Commiserations. He deserves better.

    • Reply posted by sickbeggar, at 10:41 21 Jun

      sickbeggar replied:
      Well he's been on the wane since he left spurs - goals dried up in Italy and Brentford. Don't blame him for taking the quiet life at ManU. Can take it easy while setting himself up for life financially. The heart thing would change anyone's life priorities I think

  • Comment posted by Gary , at 11:05 21 Jun

    The usual summer football transfer rumour, and it has a HYS simply because it's man utd. Pathetic.

    • Reply posted by livingmercerway, at 11:11 21 Jun

      livingmercerway replied:
      Agreed - yet the BBC is still not done with its farewells and gratitude to Mane and bigging up some kid from Aberdeen that Klopp signed - yes, he had an actual HYS all to himself!!!!!!!.
      In fact, a search could probably reveal the Quadruple was still on!

  • Comment posted by Dave, at 10:21 21 Jun

    A good move for Utd, if they can pull it off. With many of the old guard like Mata and Cavani moving on they need some experience along with the youngsters.

    • Reply posted by wolf359, at 11:17 21 Jun

      wolf359 replied:
      Letting Juan Mata go is a big mistake,a BIG mistake by Man United.

  • Comment posted by Guess she dont like the cornbread either, at 10:29 21 Jun

    Eriksen is Rubbish, I much prefer Nokia.

    • Reply posted by ancelotti_s left eyebrow is sentient, at 10:39 21 Jun

      ancelotti_s left eyebrow is sentient replied:
      Eriksen is quite mobile to be fair

  • Comment posted by MonkeyBoots, at 10:52 21 Jun

    When we all saw him carried off around this time last year none of us expected to see him on a Football field again, Serie A clubs did not want to risk him Brentford took a punt & it worked tremendously they deserve to keep him

    • Reply posted by NotYourSay, at 10:56 21 Jun

      NotYourSay replied:
      I 'think' its a Serie A insurance thing that made Inter release him.

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