Didier Deschamps waxed lyrical about Christian Eriksen - Paul Pogba's replacement at Manchester United - ahead of France's Nations League game against Denmark on Sunday.
Eriksen, 30, joined the Red Devils from Brentford in the summer on a free transfer. He established himself as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during his time at Ajax, Tottenham and Inter Milan - inspiring the latter side to the 2020/21 Serie A title.
Yet Eriksen has flourished as a central midfielder under Erik ten Hag at United, helping them win four consecutive Premier League games. The experienced international was named as the club's Player of the Month for September, such has been his impact.
Eriksen has succeeded France international Paul Pogba in the heart of United's midfield. Pogba, 29, re-joined the Red Devils for a world-record transfer fee of £89million in the summer of 2016 but failed to live up to his billing, winning just two major honours.
Pogba was released by United in June and has since re-joined Juventus. The Frenchman is yet to play for the Italian side this season due to a knee injury, which ruled him out of this month's internationals. There's a good chance he will miss the World Cup in Qatar.
France manager Deschamps couldn't call on Pogba in his team's 2-0 loss to Denmark on Sunday, as Eriksen ran the show. Deschamps was keen to highlight the United star's displays this season before the fixture - an opinion that's unlikely to have changed.
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"There is an attacking player who even surprised me, and not just because of what had happened that could have been dramatic for him, and obviously it’s Christian Eriksen," said Deschamps. "But the ability that he shows with his club in the position he plays, because he has always been someone who has a remarkable technical ability.
"But to play so frequently for his club in the midfield, to see the volume of games he plays, this ability even to recover is impressive. And he has always had the ability to score goals, to make other players score - he has always had that."
Eriksen's form is remarkable considering he suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark's Euro 2020 fixture against Finland in Copenhagen in June 2021, an incident that shocked European football. There were fears over whether he would survive, let alone play again.
Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) after his cardiac arrest and was forced to quit Inter, as players with an ICD fitted are not permitted to play in Serie A. He made his emotional comeback with Brentford in February.
The midfielder scored two minutes into his international return the following month. His short-term deal with the Bees expired in June, allowing him to join United.
"He [Eriksen] managed to integrate quickly into the squad, he has a lot of qualities," recently said Raphael Varane. "We are very happy to see him at this level after what he has been through. He brings experience. Playing against Christian is a player that I appreciate."
