Country: Denmark
Club: Manchester United
Position: Midfielder
Age: 30
Christian Eriksen is a midfielder for both the Danish national team and Premier League team Manchester United. Eriksen is well known for his passing, vision, technique, and free-kick skills.
At the age of 18, Eriksen began his professional club career in 2010 with Ajax, where he won three Eredivisie championships and the KNVB Cup. Eriksen moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a fee of £11 million (€12.45 million). While there, he won the club’s Player of the Year award twice, was selected for the PFA Team of the Year in 2017–18, and went on to play in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final.
Eriksen moved to Inter Milan in 2020 for €19.7 million (£16.9 million), and before his contract was mutually terminated in 2021, he won the Serie A. Eriksen joined Brentford in 2022, making his way back to the Premier League.
Eriksen, who was the youngest player at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, made his senior international debut for Denmark in 2010 at the age of 18. Since then, he has won over 110 caps for his country and played in four major tournaments. Eriksen, who ranks fifth among all goal scorers for his nation, has won the title of Danish Football Player of the Year a record five times. Eriksen went into cardiac arrest due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) on June 12, 2021, while playing in a UEFA Euro 2020 match.
He received cardiopulmonary resuscitation, was later fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, and eight months later, he was back playing football, eventually joining Manchester United.
Tottenham Hotspur, a member of the Premier League, announced in August 2013 that they had finalized the signing of Eriksen from Ajax in a transaction that was reportedly worth £11 million (€12.45 million).
Eriksen starred once more for Tottenham after committing to a new long-term contract with the team prior to the ensuing season. He scored eight goals and provided assists for another 15 as the club finished the league season as runners-up to winners Chelsea. Eriksen recorded the joint-most assists in the FA Cup and went on to win the Tottenham Player of the Season award, winning it for the second time after winning it in his debut season with the club. Only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne had more assists than Eriksen, who helped set up 18 goals for the season.
Style of play
Eriksen, who is frequently referred to as a “classic number ten,” prefers to play in a free role as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards in the center of the field. However, Eriksen is a tactically adaptable player who is also capable of playing as a central midfielder or mezzala in a 4-3-3 formation (as was the case during his first years with Ajax) and as a right-winger in a 4-2-3-1, He has occasionally served as a second striker or the left flank.
Eriksen is highly regarded by pundits for his ability to organize attacking moves for his team with his distribution, create or exploit spaces with his runs, and assist his teammates; his range of skills make him an effective playmaker and creator of chances. Eriksen possesses significant vision, passing range, crossing accuracy, set-piece delivery, creativity, technical skills, movement, and an ability to read the game. Along with his talent, he is renowned for his brains and work ethic on the field.
Despite being natively right-footed, he is renowned for his eye for goal from midfield and his ability to strike the ball with strength and accuracy with either foot, especially from a distance. He has also made a name for himself as a free kick expert.
Pundits have likened Eriksen to his compatriots Michael and Brian Laudrup, who were two of his main role models in his youth, as well as Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart. Eriksen has also mentioned Francesco Totti as an inspiration.
