After a long and tiresome few weeks of transfer speculation, Christian Eriksen has finally made a decision on his future and, perhaps surprisingly, he is Manchester United bound.
It seemed that as time went on it was getting increasingly more likely that Eriksen would stay put at Brentford, after they offered him a second chance last season following his cardiac arrest at EURO 2020.
However, the Danish international has opted to be part of Erik ten Hag’s fledgling project at Old Trafford, and he will be filling an obvious gap in the United squad.
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Bruno Fernandes is currently the prime creative option at the club and has provided largely excellent service for United’s frontline since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020. Though, despite still putting up impressive numbers, the Portuguese international is coming off the back of his least impressive season at the club, with his form patchy across the 2021/2022 campaign.
It’s worth noting that Fernandes’ profile is one that some may label ‘erratic’. He attempts a lot of passes, runs a lot and therefore covers a lot of ground, operating in a number of areas across the pitch.
Christian Eriksen offers a much different profile. A more reserved, composed playmaker who attempts less passes and is more adept at keeping the ball, rather than risking possession in hope of finding a killer breakthrough. A profile very much comparable to the departing veteran Juan Mata.
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The back end of last season saw Mata back in the United fray and he put in a number of good performances, namely against Eriksen’s Brentford at Old Trafford back in May.
The former Spurs man will likely provide something similar to the Spaniard, as a diminutive creator with great elegance and quality.
In the aforementioned Brentford fixture, Mata played off Cristiano Ronaldo with Fernandes out on the left in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which Erik ten Hag has been known to use frequently at Ajax.
A similar system could be used next season and Eriksen has also been used out wide sparingly throughout his career. This means Ten Hag has options thanks to versatility when it comes to picking a side for United’s Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford in August.
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It is yet to be seen how Donny van de Beek will be used going forward, but he provides a further option in United’s creative force.
It is perhaps also worth noting that Ten Hag has already seen Eriksen’s abilities up close, with the latter training in Amsterdam earlier this year with Ajax’s youth team in a bid to regain fitness before his signing with Brentford was eventually confirmed.
Paul Pogba topped the club’s assist charts in the Premier League last season with nine despite a largely turbulent campaign, which perfectly summarises the lack of a prevalent creator in the squad when Fernandes is off the boil.
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Not to mention the fact that Pogba himself has also departed the club on a free due to the expiration of his contract, which has created a further void of creativity.
Fernandes himself provided six assists, with Alex Telles, Fred and Nemanja Matic behind him on four.
That array of names makes it quite clear that more assistance is needed when it comes to giving the likes of Ronaldo, should he stay at the club, or whomever shall be leading the line for United better service in the coming season.
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Eriksen comes to Old Trafford with an abundance of Premier League experience, racking up 237 appearances in the competition with both Spurs and Brentford.
He appeared 11 times for the Bees last season, scoring one goal and getting four assists.
Erik ten Hag will hope to get the transfer over the line before the club flies to Bangkok on Friday head of their fixture in the city against rivals Liverpool. The club plan on playing one match in Thailand before flying off to Australia to play a further three, with two more upon return to Europe rounding off a six-match tour.
Topics: Manchester United, Christian Eriksen, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Erik Ten Hag, Football
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Henry Cowling