Tottenham battle Manchester United to sign Christian Eriksen

Danish football player Christian Eriksen, who returned to the English Premier League from Italy this year, scored a tie-breaking goal for his team, which had been behind by 2:1 nine minutes into the second half of the game, helping Brentford beat Chelsea 4:1 on Sunday. Daily Mail reported that both Tottenham and Manchester United, looking for a strong playmaker, are eying to recruit Eriksen.

Eriksen, who joined Tottenham in 2013, worked with Son Heung-min until end of 2019. At that time, the striker team of Dele Alli, Eriksen, Son and Harry Kane at Tottenham was nicknamed DESK by the players initials, which led the team’s second place winning in the English Premier League for the 2016-2017 season as well as the second place winning for the Champion’s League for UEFA in 2018-2019. Eriksen is capable of using both feet for striking and shoots excellent passes. He is also known for his outstanding ability of penetrating in limited spaces. He contributed to 69 goals and 90 assists for Tottenham’s 305 plays. He is known as one of the best mid-fielders in EPL history but transferred to Inter Milan of Italy in January 2020 when negotiations with his team failed.

Eriksen passed out from a cardiac arrest during the Euro 2020 tournament with Finland in June last year and has a defibrillator attached to his heart ever since. Rules in Italian professional football bar players with such devices, which prompted Eriksen to transfer to the English Premier League free from such regulations.

Eriksen’s transfer to Brentford in January is based on a short-term contract, and thus will be a free agent after the season ends. Brentford did not disclose Eriksen’s annual pay, but it is estimated to be less than what he earned at Inter Milan. Since he is without transfer fees, he has room to maneuver.

During the preliminary games for the 2022 Qatar World Cup games, Son Heung-min, who is a close friend to Eriksen, staged a goal ceremony for Eriksen by holding up his fingers to signal 23, Eriksen’s number. Will Eriksen rejoin Tottenham to play with Son – that is something to look forward to.


Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com