Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen is proving to be one of the best Premier League signings of the summer.
He is constantly providing the intelligence on and off the ball and the technical security that the side have been missing in the middle of the pitch over the last five to ten years.
Signing for the Red Devils on a free transfer, reportedly rejecting the offers put forward by the likes of Brentford, Tottenham and other European clubs, Eriksen is currently occupying a deep role in midfield, to help the team to progress possession with his calm and patient approach.
United spent the second most when compared to the teams in the league and across Europe this summer, with a lot of the attention being on the likes of Antony, Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez.
However, the side’s most efficient and standout signing is someone that did not cost a single penny.
When initially completing his move to United, Eriksen was not expected to be a regular starter given that there would be major doubts over his capability of performing to the intensity and physicality demands of the Premier League, as the role he would be playing would come with a huge amount of responsibility compared to the duties he was carrying out previously at Inter Milan and Brentford.
Nevertheless, he has started in all the side’s league matches so far this season and has played 533 minutes out of a potential 540 minutes of league football.
Many had thought that Eriksen’s arrival was to provide extra competition and squad depth, but he is covering a lot of distance week in and out, showing the league experience he possesses with every pass he makes and every off-ball movement he produces.
The Danish international was recently presented with back-to-back Man of the Match awards, with his outstanding performances against Arsenal and Leicester City, as he has formed an efficient partnership with Scott McTominay in the double pivot of the 4-2-3-1 formation.
No other United player has completed more accurate passes per league game than Eriksen so far this season (39.3, 79%).
Ten Hag was full of praise towards the 30-year-old following his display at Old Trafford against an in-form Arsenal side, “He can make a game for you, make the switch of play, he sees a pass between the lines, make the final pass and go back into attack to score a goal. He can improve his defence, when he plays like today one small mistake, we’ll give him that, he played a magnificent game.”
What makes him a special player is that he does not need pace or power to be a huge presence for his team, as many of the modern-day midfielders have these assets to be successful in the Premier League.
The way he reads the game along with his vision is what every attacker demands from their midfielders, knowing when to keep the ball ticking and when to provide the passes in between the lines, as he played an important role in all three of the goals the side had scored against Arsenal.
It's not easy to go from being a creative playmaker to a deep-lying midfielder, but the former Brentford and Inter player had the positional discipline, technical security, and tactical understanding to become an instant impact when being moved into this position.
He was trialled for this role during his time in Serie A, when playing under Antonio Conte, which resulted in the resurgence of Eriksen as the blue side of Milan went on to win the league in the 2020/21 season.
Focusing back on United, his influence was completely missing in the second half of the side’s most recent game against Real Sociedad in the Europa League, as he was taken off at half-time for Bruno Fernandes.
The midfield options in Casemiro, Fred and McTominay have their own strengths and qualities, but neither of them are able to provide the linkup play from defence to midfield or from midfield to attack like how Eriksen does, resulting in him being one of Ten Hag’s favourite players.
Overall, Christian Eriksen is performing at a high level that the Old Trafford faithful were expecting Paul Pogba to do on a consistent and effective basis over the last six years.
His ability to dictate play and provide the range of passing in midfield has instantly helped Ten Hag to move on forward without the arrival of Frenkie de Jong, a player who the manager was chasing throughout the window.
There is no doubt that he is one of the best Premier League signings of the summer.
