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Manchester United would be best served by parting ways with midfielder Christian Eriksen this summer.
United signed Eriksen as a free agent from Brentford in the summer of 2022. During his first campaign at the club, the Denmark international formed a formidable partnership with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.
He helped the club end a six-year trophy drought after they won the Carabao Cup. Eriksen was also instrumental as United finished in third place in the Premier League to clinch Champions League football.
His progress and momentum were slightly halted by an ankle injury he sustained in January 2023 and since then, Eriksen’s fortunes at Old Trafford have taken a downward spiral.
In 2023/24, the 32-year-old made 28 appearances across all competitions. He managed just 12 top-flight starts, which raised question marks around his future.
Eriksen saw his playing time significantly curtailed due to the meteoric rise of Kobbie Mainoo. Mainoo returned to the team in November 2023 after a lengthy spell on the sidelines and since then, he has not looked back. The homegrown midfielder went on to cement his place in Ten Hag’s starting XI and in next to no time, rendered himself almost undroppable with a string of fine performances.
The current upward trajectory young Mainoo is on is showing no signs of slowing down and this will translate to even fewer minutes for Eriksen, despite his extensive experience.
There is no place for Eriksen in the pivot, either as a box-to-box midfielder or as a deep-lying operator. The former role appears to be reserved for Mainoo, while Ten Hag has shown a preference for deploying Casemiro in the latter position.
Meanwhile, playmaking duties fall squarely on the shoulders of United skipper Bruno Fernandes.
Combine this with the fact that Mason Mount – who is eager to prove a point after an extremely underwhelming maiden season at United – is also patiently waiting on the wings to make his mark, and it’s difficult to see where Eriksen fits in.
Scott McTominay, a player Ten Hag has repeatedly stated his admiration for after his goalscoring heroics last term, also represents more competition for 32-year-old Eriksen.
It’s believed that the Red Devils are also plotting the recruitment of midfielders to bolster Ten Hag’s options in the middle of the park. United continue to be strongly linked to Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte, Sander Berge of Burnley, free agent Adrien Rabiot and even Sofyan Amrabat. Should the club bring in one or even two midfielders, one feels that Eriksen could fall further down the pecking order.
It’s probable that Eriksen will not take kindly to his reduced status at the club. He himself recently admitted that his objective is to play as many games as possible as he wants to be the football guy and not just a senior member of the team, who has other duties beyond the pitch.
If United keep a dissatisfied player who is unhappy with their situation, there is a genuine risk of disrupting team harmony and damaging overall morale.
A 32, Eriksen is also on the wrong side of his career and considering he has just one year left on his United deal, this summer represents the 20-time English champions’ best chance of netting some money from his exit.
It’s highly unlikely that Eriksen will be offered fresh terms to extend his stay at United and for a club that desperately needs to sell in order to buy so as to ensure compliance with PSR rules, the Reds cannot afford to let Eriksen walk away for nothing in 12 months.
The Denmark international will certainly not be short of suitors. A previous report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Eredivisie giants Ajax are keen on securing Eriksen’s services. He has also been mentioned to be on the radar of other European teams such as Anderlecht and Galatasaray. At such outfits, where he will be given the reins of midfield (as was the case at Brentford), Eriksen may find himself again and in the process, become the heartbeat of the team.
A fee of €5 million (£4.2m) has been mooted for Eriksen and United would be wise to facilitate their No. 14’s departure.
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