Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing Christian Eriksen on a free transfer. Or so we’re led to believe.
The midfielder, who has played for the likes of Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur, and Inter Milan, recently left his latest side Brentford.
The London club signed Eriksen for free last season after he was released by the Italian giants.
Inter tried to support the Denmark star following his heart problems but league rules prevented them from holding onto him, so he returned to England.
After a successful time with Brentford, it seems he’s hungry for more elsewhere, and that’s where United come in.
Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones keen on his signature. It’s believed Tottenham and indeed Brentford are chasing him too.
What does this mean for Erik ten Hag?
Why should Manchester United sign him?
Well, the obvious reason is that he’s a talented player and we’re short of options in the position he just so happens to be capable of playing in.
In a summer where United need lots of incomings (as many as ten Ralf Rangnick once said!), and an apparent tight budget, fans and Ten Hag can’t be too picky.
Eriksen has proved himself in the Premier League, not once, but twice, and would be available to sign for free.
He would basically be taking up a spot that was previously occupied by any one of Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, or Paul Pogba. And we all know all four of them were on higher wages than any of us liked.
Eriksen isn’t just capable in the position we need stocking up in but he’s also got attributes we need. He’s a playmaker and a hard worker. Capable of linking play but also supporting his teammates on or off the ball.
It also helps that besides his heart trouble, his injury record might as well be non-existent.
Why shouldn’t United sign him?
The main concern would be his age. He’s 30 years old and signing him feels like a repeat of the mistakes of the past.
However, not all 30 years old and over players are awful, declining, or looking for a big payday. United just have to be smart about who they sign.
As much as he’s a versatile player, the other point to make is Eriksen is more of a natural attacking-midfielder than anything else.
Yes he’s fantastic as a central-midfielder or even as a creative winger but the point is we’d be signing yet another player who we don’t seem to intend on playing him where he’s at his best.
Having said that, Ten Hag will likely still get plenty out of Eriksen and as a free signing, he’s a very low risk transfer.
The next point isn’t a reason to not sign him but more of why we might find ourselves incapable of doing so.
Tottenham Hotspur can offer him Champions League football, and while some rumours claimed it’s not a dealbreaker for him, every footballer wants to play in that competition.
He’s also familiar with Antonio Conte from their time together at Inter Milan.
United’s potential saving grace is that Spurs just signed Yves Bissouma. That might mean he’ll be put off if he’s not offered a key spot in the team.
However, Ten Hag might not make that promise either. Particularly since Frenkie de Jong is the star summer signing and Bruno Fernandes is likely to keep his spot in the starting XI.
A midfield trio of De Jong, Bruno, and Eriksen doesn’t exactly sound too robust.
Why would Ten Hag want Eriksen?
You’d imagine it’s because he’s free, talented, a low-risk signing, and would add a body to a depleted squad.
Is that enough reason? Time will tell but Ten Hag doesn’t have a track record of signing players he doesn’t want or making bad signings either.
The temptation is there, and that might just be enough to see Eriksen in red.