Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was reportedly informed of Christian Eriksen’s desire to play outside of England by the Tottenham man himself.
As noted by BBC Sport, the Danish international had been linked with a move to Old Trafford, but it’s reported that he would perhaps prefer a move to Spain and so talks have ended.
Meanwhile, The Sun had previously reported that the Red Devils were hopeful of completing a £70m deal with their Premier League rivals, to give Solskjaer a boost by signing a player with real technical quality and creativity to complement the options already at his disposal.
Eriksen bagged 10 goals and 17 assists in 51 appearances last season, and so to combine that with the pace and movement of the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial would certainly give Solskjaer a real balance in attack.
In turn, it had looked like a genuine possibility that Eriksen would find himself at Man Utd before the transfer deadline on Thursday evening, particularly considering that AS claimed that Eriksen even had an agreement with United over a five-year contract.
However, the report goes on to note that in a classy move, given it’s suggested Solskjaer was particularly keen on signing the 27-year-old this summer, Eriksen himself phoned the Norwegian tactician to thank him for the interest shown but to explain that he would prefer to leave England ahead of the new campaign.
If accurate, that’s a nice touch from Eriksen, one that Solskjaer would undoubtedly have appreciated as it in turn gives United the opportunity to spend the last 24 hours of the window looking at other targets to see if they can continue to strengthen their squad while showing a mutual respect between the two parties.
In the AS report above, it’s suggested that Atletico Madrid could now be an option for the Spurs ace, while Sky Sports report that rivals Real Madrid are his first choice.
Time will tell where Eriksen ends up, but it seems pretty clear at this stage that he will not be joining Man Utd before the deadline.
