The Tottenham Hotspur star snubbed his side’s London rivals as a teenager.
In an interview with Danish outlet Unisport, Tottenham Hotspur star Christian Eriksen has reflected on his tour of the Chelsea training ground as a teenager.
Years before the Danish playmaker turned up at Tottenham in 2013, Eriksen had a trial with Spurs’ London rivals as a 14-year-old, prior to joining Dutch giants Ajax.
The 24-year-old has revealed to Unisport that the intensive security measures and quality of the Blues’ facilities were an eye-opening experience for him, having hailed from Middlefart in Denmark – a town whose population is slightly over 14,000 people.
Eriksen – then at Odense – claims it was his “first shock” in football, admitting that he was somewhat taken back by the whole encounter.
“I think the first shock I got was when I went to Chelsea, aged 14 or 15 I think, the first time I went,” he told Unisport.
“When you see how close it is behind doors. Where I came from, everything was open and everyone could do whatever they wanted. Here [at Chelsea] you came in two gates. There was security all around, for 24 hours.
“I went in to see all the big players and noticed how big the club is. That was the first thing which made me fall back a little bit because I was a quiet kid from Middlefart who wasn’t used to that stuff.”
Thankfully for Tottenham, Eriksen joined them upon his return to the capital some years later, and he has since established himself as one of the Lilywhites’ best players.
Christian Eriksen celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring the second goal for Tottenham
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