Christian Eriksen admits he ‘didn’t want to go’ from Tottenham Hotspur to Premier League rivals Manchester United during his time at the North London outfit, speaking to Sky Sports.
Amid all the focus surrounding Alejandro Garnacho’s stoppage time heroics and that Cristiano Ronaldo interview, Eriksen’s magisterial display during Sunday’s dramatic 2-1 win at Fulham looked destined to be overshadowed.
Unfortunately so.
After scoring his first Man United goal from yet another Bruno Fernandes assist, the dazzling Dane then set up Garnacho’s strike with the sort of instinctive, inch-perfect through ball the 30-year-old has made his trademark during a decade at the very top level.
Only 14 players have more assists in the entire Premier League era than Eriksen (70). The vast majority of those came during his seven-year spell at Tottenham between 2013 and 2020; Eriksen rebuffing the advances of his current employers to stay at his old ones during a previous transfer window.
Christian Eriksen could have left Tottenham for Manchester United
“When I was at Spurs, there were talk (with Manchester United),” the former Ajax, Brentford and Inter Milan playmaker explains. “But in the end it didn’t work out. At the time, I didn’t want to go.
“But, this time, I had a chance. Of course, I wanted to go. And, luckily, they wanted to (sign me) as well. When you say Manchester United, it’s different. The vibe is different.
“It’s about how big it is, how many people follow it, and how much media attention there is. It’s bigger compared to the club’s I’ve been at before.”
Joining Erik Ten Hag’s resurgent United side on a free transfer, Eriksen has unquestionably been one of the best bargain signings in recent years; his exquisite technical ability and valuable experience marking the evergreen playmaker out as potentially the Paul Scholes replacement Old Trafford has been crying out for.
Man United are currently fifth; one place and three points behind Tottenham in the Premier League table. The former does, however, have a game in hand on the latter. United also ran Spurs ragged during a dominant 2-0 win at Old Trafford in mid-October. A scoreline that could have been even more lopsided if it wasn’t for a virtuoso Hugo Lloris display.
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