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If a new report is to be believed, Manchester United are asking for only €5 million (£4.2m) for Christian Eriksen.
With the player repeatedly saying he is happy at United and wanting to see his contract out, there is little logic to explain this position.
It is not as if United are blessed with a plethora of central midfielders.
Casemiro has become a liability, Donny van de Beek has been sold and Scott McTominay is a squad player at best. Kobbie Mainoo is realistically the only top Premier League standard player in the 6/8 positions.
Even if Ineos successfully negotiate the acquisition of Manuel Ugarte from PSG, they will still only have two top CMs, and even that assumes he adapts to the English league successfully.
Moreover, not one of the above, except Eriksen, is a deep lying playmaker.
It is undeniable that the Dane looked a yard off the pace at times last season but this could be put down, in part at least, to not being given enough of a run in the team at any point to reach proper match fitness. This does become more important for players as they age.
Whether Erik ten Hag sees something in training, or whether it is because Eriksen’s style is not a good fit for the appalling transitions-based game the manager employed last season, we cannot know.
But every team should have more than one way of playing and, surely, every squad should have at least one deep lying playmaker.
It feels as if Ten Hag has written Eriksen off too quickly and Ineos have not challenged this. Perhaps this will be to their detriment.
The 32 year old has already impressed in pre-season, being the standout star of United’s second half side against Arsenal in LA.
He was also arguably Denmark’s best player in Euro 24, scoring a wonder goal against Slovenia and bossing England’s star-studded midfield in their 1-1 draw.
If Ineos are intending to replace Eriksen with a like-for-like player, an upgrade, then this would all make sense. However, this seems highly unlikely without them forking out a hefty sum, which in itself is equally unlikely, regardless of the player.
Not every player needs pace to excel. A strong defensive midfielder alongside Eriksen and a stable back four – two things that United could not provide him with last season – would allow him to spray passes around from deep to find the runs of the faster guys up front.
With one year left on his contract, there is little to gain by selling Eriksen now, particularly for an amount less than even a loan fee would cost to replace him.
Simply put, there is life in the old dog yet.
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