Manchester United head into Monday night’s clash with Brentford with their hopes of earning a place back in the Champions League in tatters.
The Red Devils’ 1-1 draw with Chelsea last time out did not do Ralf Rangnick ’s men any favours at all as they attempt to chase down Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. They now come up against another London side in the form of Thomas Frank’s Bees and with just three games of the season remaining, they have to effectively win all of those to even stand a fleeting chance.
After all, United find themselves eight points off of the pace following victories for both the Gunners and Spurs over the weekend. Ironically, it might be a player who could have been strutting his stuff at Old Trafford who may all-but effectively end the Red Devils’ hopes of returning to Europe’s top table - Christian Eriksen.
Since signing for Brentford in the January transfer window, the Dane has been an inspirational figure for the Bees. Whilst he has just one goal and two assists in seven games, the club have so often looked to him for creativity and that added spark required to win matches in the Premier League.
His role in the Bees’ 4-1 thumping of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge certainly harked back to the 30-year-old’s sparkling days with former club Tottenham. Eriksen has certainly endured a rollercoaster few years following his Spurs exit with a Serie A title success, that shocking cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 and indeed his emotional return to the game.
If things had panned out differently however, the 111-time Danish international might have been a Manchester United player. He was linked with a switch to Old Trafford on numerous occasions, most recently in the 2019 January window but instead chose to pursue a move to Italy instead.
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Speaking to the BBC in February 2020, he confirmed the Red Devils’ interest and detailed his reasons for not becoming a Manchester United player. He said: "For a few years but it was never really likely. We did speak to them [Manchester United] of course and we did hear what was possible and what wasn't possible. But, in the end, me personally, I wanted a new challenge. To stay in the Premier League would have been an easy solution.
"Of course, staying at Tottenham would also have been a solution but, for me, it just came down to wanting to try a new challenge in a new country. Once Inter came up it really wasn't a difficult choice."
Over three years after United eyed Eriksen, it appears that the failure to secure his signature could finally come back to hurt the Red Devils with the side’s Champions League hopes now on the verge of destruction.
