Christian Eriksen has acknowledged that Erik ten Hag was a key factor in his choice to sign with Manchester United, a move he never anticipated taking place despite being frequently mentioned as a potential transfer target.
Eriksen joined United on a free transfer earlier this month after his short-term contract with Brentford expired.
After his Inter contract expired, the Dane joined the Bees until the end of the season. This was due to him receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator following a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 last summer. Eriksen would not have been able to play in Serie A matches due to competition rules.
Eriksen impressed at Brentford, where he had one goal and four assists, and the club wanted to keep him. United, however, beat them to Eriksen’s signature, with the Dane revealing his excitement at joining the club in an interview posted on the club’s website.
“Ah, very new! It’s weird, I never thought it would actually happen, so to be here, like you say being a Manchester United player, it’s very special,” Eriksen revealed. “Because I think from my career path before the incident in the Euros, the planning wasn’t to go back to the UK at all.
“I was thinking my time to go to Manchester United was before! Obviously, then I was at Spurs, and then went to Italy, but now to sit here is definitely something that I didn’t expect, but I’m also very happy that I’m here. It feels good, it feels good to be here.”
Eriksen continued by saying that the decision to join Manchester United this summer was largely influenced by the new manager Ten Hag.
“Very. I want to come here to play football, I don’t come here just for the logo itself, I want to come here and play,” he said.
“Obviously to speak with the manager and hear his ideas and have conversations with him on the football terms was great and ideal for me to get the decision and the possibility of coming to Manchester United.”
