Manchester United’s midfield is a problem area and the Red Devils chose not to bring in any reinforcements in the middle of the park this summer.
One of the main problems Ruben Amorim faces in that position is the decline of Casemiro, who was a revelation when he moved to Old Trafford but is now slowing down.
Some of the Brazilian’s best moments at United came alongside Christian Eriksen, but the Danish veteran flagged even more than Casemiro and departed at the end of last season when his contract expired.
Still without a club
United picked up Eriksen on a free transfer after he had spent six months at Brentford. Across three seasons at Old Trafford the Dane made 107 appearances, scoring eight goals and contributing 19 assists.
He was used sparingly by Amorim, whose 3-4-2-1 system didn’t easily accommodate the 33-year-old either in the midfield pivot or further forward as one of the number 10s.
It was therefore little surprise to see Eriksen bid farewell to United in June, when he paid tribute to the fans in his departing comments.
Since then the player has been linked with the ambitious Wrexham as well as Turkish side Besiktas, but remains a free agent.
Slammed for lack of ambition
Earlier this month, Eriksen started training with Swedish side Malmö as he looks to keep in shape ahead of possibly signing with a new club in the coming weeks or months.
This has not gone down well with former Everton and Real Madrid midfielder Thomas Gravesen, who slammed his compatriot for showing a lack of ambition.
“It is incomprehensible to me that he chooses Malmö. It is not a club that he can go to because he cannot sign a contract with them and we have some clubs in Denmark that are much, much better than Malmö,” he told Fotboll Skanalen via Sport Witness.
“This looks like a friendly thing, where Christian Eriksen is over and having fun with some friends. Where is the ambition to play football?”.
Out of the Denmark squad
Unsurprisingly, Eriksen was left out of the Denmark squad for the current round of international fixtures. National boss Brian Riemer admitted he was concerned about the 33-year-old’s situation.
So too, although in much less sympathetic terms, is Gravesen: “We talk about him being without a club for three months, but he has been without a club since January because he has been able to sign a contract with a new club ever since. He has been dragging his feet on it for a long time. If he wants to play for the national team, what signal does this send?
“What signal does going up and having fun with friends in Malmö send? I don’t understand it! It seems frivolous in some way. If he had ambitions, he would have gone to a higher-level club. For me, it is not ambitious enough to go to Malmö and have fun. Who sees him there?”.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
