In the ambulance that delivered Christian Eriksen from Parken to the emergency department of Copenhagen’s largest hospital, he told the attendant paramedics that they could take his boots because he would no longer be needing them. The cardiac arrest that almost tragically ended his life while he was playing in last summer’s European Championship had surely ended his career, he thought. And yet a little more than a year later he has signed for Manchester United.
Eriksen’s recovery and extraordinary return to play was the feelgood story of last season, especially as it ended with him helping newly promoted Brentford to avoid relegation comfortably. Thomas Frank’s side were only three points clear of the drop before his first start in early March, but in his 11 appearances they averaged two points per game. It was more than enough to steer Brentford to safety. In fact, that sort of average over the course of an entire season would have been enough to finish in the top four.
