Manchester United, Inter and Juventus will wait to sign Christian Eriksen for free
By Durim Halimi
Christian Eriksen wants to leave Tottenham in January, but he will have to wait until the summer to make his departure from London.
Christian Eriksen has sparked a major dilemma for Tottenham after he made it clear that he will not sign a new contract with the London-based club despite being offered up to £200,000 a week. Eriksen’s contract expires at the end of this season, which means he will be available for free in the summer.
According to a new report from the Telegraph, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Juventus are all interested in securing Eriksen’s services, but they are willing to wait until the summer when they can sign him for free. This update is a major blow for Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s owner, as he was hoping to make a profit off the midfielder he purchased for £11.5m from Ajax back in 2013.
In addition to naming three notable clubs that are interested in Eriksen, the report from the Telegraph also goes on to say that Manchester United are in pole position to sign the Danish international. Real Madrid were interested in signing Eriksen back in August, but it looks like Zinedine Zidane prefers Paul Pogba as a transfer target.
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That being said, it looks more likely that Eriksen will leave Tottenham in the summer, but he will be allowed to sign a pre-contract agreement with other clubs once the January transfer window opens on Wednesday. Knowing that Manchester United, Inter Milan and Juventus are the top dogs in the race, what team is the best fit for Eriksen?
Manchester United and Inter Milan over Juventus
When looking at the players on all three teams, Eriksen would be a guaranteed starter for Manchester United and Inter Milan, but he would have some tough internal competition at Juventus. The Italian champions are stacked in midfield and their interest in Eriksen is a bit surprising because of the depth they enjoy in the middle of the park.
The Red Devils would greatly benefit from Eriksen’s skills as an attacking midfielder behind either Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial. Ole Gunner Solskjaer is desperate to add more quality in the middle seeing that players like Fred, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira and Scott McTominay struggled with consistency and overall confidence. Eriksen’s talent and experience would make him one of the first names on the team sheet at Manchester United every weekend.
The same argument can be made for Inter Milan. Antonio Conte’s side boasts plenty of talent on the front-line and in the back, but his midfield is not one worth bragging about. With a few players over the age of 30, Conte would much rather have Eriksen, 27, orchestrating his team’s attack while operating behind Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez.
In my eyes, Inter Milan present Eriksen with the most appealing option for two reasons. Firstly, Conte plays with two strikers up top and this would allow Eriksen to take on the role of a playmaker who creates chances for the duo in front of him and for himself. If Eriksen were to join Inter Milan, there is no doubt that his goal-scoring tally would improve with Lukaku and Martinez attracting more attention from defenders.
Finally, the fact that Inter Milan are fighting for the top spot in the Serie A and are destined to play Champions League football is a major selling point. Top players want to join elite teams with objectives centred around domestic and continental success.
Next. Tottenham may elect to allow Jan Vertonghen to leave via free transfer. dark
As I mentioned before, Manchester United would be a good fit for Eriksen, but Inter Milan present him with the opportunity to leave England and test the waters in another top European league.