Thomas Frank hopes Christian Eriksen has saved some goals for Brentford after another memorable week for the Danish superstar.
The 30-year-old returned to the national team during the recent international break for the first time since his cardiac arrest last summer and scored in Denmark’s matches with the Netherlands and Serbia.
Eriksen found the net with his first touch after being introduced at Amsterdam Arena last week before he capped an emotional return to Parken Stadium – the scene of his near-death experience on June 12 – with a goal as he captained his country to a 3-0 win.
“The first thing I said to him when he came back in was hopefully he saved a few goals for us because scored in his first two games for Denmark,” Frank said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.
“Of course it is like a fairy tale him coming back into the national team, scoring with the first touch and in the first game with a top goal.
“Actually the action he did afterwards when he received the ball on the half-turn and smacked it on the post was an even better action.
“He then played a top game against Serbia so I was very pleased for him, for his family, his partner and friends that now he is back to the level we know he can produce at and helping the Danish national team.”
Talk over Eriksen’s future continues but Frank insisted any conversations between the former Tottenham playmaker and Brentford would remain “internal” and occur at the end of the season.
He added: “I am pretty convinced and sure Christian is enjoying it here but also convinced nothing will be decided before the end of the season from either side.
“I guess I will get a lot of these questions every Friday and I will try answer them in the best possible way. It is clear we would like to continue with Christian.”
Brentford goalkeeper David Raya also enjoyed a memorable international week after he received a maiden call-up to the Spanish national team and was handed a debut in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Albania.
The Barcelona-born stopper never represented his country at youth level but has enjoyed an excellent rise since he first signed for the west London club in 2019.
Frank insisted: “It was huge. I think for a football club of our size and the way we progressed through the leagues to now being in the Premier League, that we can have a player in the Spanish national team getting his debut, it is close to unbelievable.
“It is really, really big and shows you can play for Brentford and get a debut with one of the biggest national teams or countries in the world.”
Raya’s focus will now turn to taking on Champions League holders Chelsea.
The Blues have faced uncertainty during the last month after owner Roman Abramovich announced plans to sell the club in March before sanctions were brought against the Russian-Israeli billionaire by the UK Government that forced the club to obtain a special license to continue operating.
“They are Champions League winners and they can win it again so we are up against world-class players. If we go there and win, it would be the result of the season for us probably,” Frank said.
“I really hope that we perform well and get a result because we have been close against the top six clubs.
“I know it will be unbelievably difficult going to Stamford Bridge against a top Chelsea side. Thomas Tuchel and his staff have done an unbelievably tough job in very difficult circumstances recently of course but we believe we can get a result.”
