It has been a roller-coaster two-and-a-half years for Christian Eriksen in Manchester United colours. His first season was a grand success, with the Dane forging a formidable partnership with Casemiro in the middle of the park.
Erik ten Hag brought both to the club in his first season and the Red Devils clinched the Carabao Cup and qualified for the Champions League with plenty of fans excited to see what the future had in store.
But everything came crashing down in his sophomore season, with the club struggling to adapt to his chaos ball with the Dane hardly getting a look-in as Kobbie Mainoo took his place.
Despite a dismal start to the current season, the 32-year-old was once again trusted by the Dutchman and while his individual performances were quite impressive, the club’s poor form meant Ten Hag was relieved of his duties.
Eriksen’s future
An injury meant interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy could not call upon his services and with Ruben Amorim taking over permanently, the Denmark international’s future remains up in the air.
His contract with the 20-time English league champions ends in 2025 and despite four goals and three assists this term, Amorim wants younger players who can handle the intensity of his footballing philosophy.
The former Tottenham Hotspur star, currently out on international duty, was asked about his future and he confirmed that he is yet to hear from the club regarding the same.
“I haven’t focused on it yet, and I haven’t heard anything from the club,” he was quoted as saying by Tipsbladet. “Right now it’s just about football, and then we have to see where we stand in January and for that matter in the summer.”
Eriksen focussed on impressing Amorim
Amorim will have a say in contract renewals and he will give each player a clean slate and judge them after seeing them in action.
And the experienced midfielder also reiterated the same message, saying that his job was to train well and then leave it up the new head coach.
“As a football player, you just turn up and train, and then it is the coach who decides the team at the weekend. I have not set my hopes or expectations.”
Eriksen could still play a major role this season owing to Kobbie Mainoo’s injury and Mason Mount’s poor injury record. But his future seems to lie away from Old Trafford as Amorim and INEOS want to build for the future.
Feature image Harriet Lander via Getty Images
Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
