New Manchester United signing Christian Eriksen has explained how he rejected joining the club three times before saying yes to Erik ten Hag.
The Danish playmaker became United’s second signing of the summer transfer window last month – following the arrival of Tyrell Malacia and preceding that of Lisandro Martinez - as he put pen to paper on a three-year contract with the Red Devils.
The 30-year-old returned to the Premier League earlier this year as he joined Brentford after leaving Inter Milan but was a free transfer this summer. Eriksen opted to join United rather than sign a longer-term deal with the Bees, insisting that he was "excited" at the prospect of linking up with new United boss Ten Hag.
It was Ten Hag who invited the former Ajax star back to the Amsterdam club’s training facilities last season to help his return to fitness following his exit from Inter, and the two shared a strong working relationship. Eriksen has now explained that he said no to each of the Dutchman’s three permanent predecessors at Old Trafford before making the switch.
Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all showed interested in signing Eriksen while he was at Tottenham but the transfer never came to fruition. Eriksen’s most famous stint was a seven-and-a-half-year spell at Spurs, which led to interest from United.
Eriksen explained: “When I was at Spurs, I spoke to every manager who’s been here at Man United to see what the situation was. So, it’s been on the books. Well, not on the books, but it’s been spoken about [for a while].
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“For me, then wasn’t the time to move. I was at Spurs for a long time and I wanted to try something abroad, so I went to Inter and ended up having a lovely time. But then obviously something happened in the summer and that changed the career path I had in mind, so I came back to England, to Brentford first of all.
“To be here [at United] is something I didn’t think could happen a year ago. I never thought it was going to happen.”
Eriksen has also clarified that speculation he would return to Tottenham this summer was “only talk”, adding: “They [Spurs] never really came with anything so it wasn’t really a thing for me to go back to Tottenham at the time and Man United were in very early on, very positive and I had good conversations with them. It was very positive from the first few phone calls already and the club felt like they wanted me, so it was on for a long time.”
It remains unclear how Eriksen will fit into Ten Hag’s new-look United team, especially as the Red Devils are continuing to pursue Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. However, it is likely he will be utilised in a deeper role with Bruno Fernandes further forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which has been prevalent in the club’s pre-season tour.
“I can’t see any problem playing with Bruno,” Eriksen added. “Before I came, I spoke to [Ten Hag] about how he sees me as a player and where he sees me. He didn’t mention any players. Obviously, he puts the team out and picks who’s going to start, and then from there on you adapt to whoever you’re playing with.
“I’ll be happy wherever; I’ve always been like that. I try to adapt to the position I’m playing in.”
