Brentford have announced the signing of former Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen who has been out of action since suffering a cardiac arrest at the Euro 2020.
The 29-year-old was representing his country when he suddenly collapsed from a cardiac arrest throwing his teammates and the football world into deep concern.
Since then, Eriksen has been fitted with a defibrillator which helps in the pacing of his heart. However, the device prevented him from returning to his club Inter Milan as Serie A rules do not allow players with the device to play in the league.
The cardiac arrest was a huge health scare for Eriksen who thought he would never be able to play in the top flight again.
Now, the former Tottenham playmaker is in the clear to resume his career in one of the most fast paced leagues, the Premier League.
“I am looking forward to working with Christian again. It has been a while since I last coached him, and a lot has happened since then,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank said about signing Eriksen via the club’s website.
“Christian was 16 at the time and has become one of the best midfield players to appear in the Premier League. He has also won trophies all over Europe and become the star of the Danish national team.
“We have taken an unbelievable opportunity to bring a world class player to Brentford. He hasn’t trained with a team for seven months but has done a lot of work on his own.
“He is fit but we will need to get him match fit and I am looking forward to seeing him work with the players and staff to get back towards his highest level.
“At his best, Christian has the ability to dictate games of football. He can find the right passes and is a goal threat. He also has very, very good set piece delivery, both from corners and direct free kicks. He is a player you can find with the ball, and he will come up with a solution to the problem in front of him.
“Christian will also bring experience of top level football to the club. I expect him to have an impact in the dressing room and at the training ground.”
Eriksen is not a stranger to playing in the Premier League having spent six-and-a-half years with Tottenham. He made 305 appearances for the North London club, scoring 69 goals.
Eriksen has spent some time training with some of his former clubs in a bid to maintain his fitness ahead of his signing with Brentford. He trained with OB Odense and then Ajax.
Eriksen will wear the number 21 jersey at Brentford. He is unlikely to be involved in the club’s FA Cup fourth round match against Everton on Saturday as he hasn’t joined the squad and has been unable to train with them adue to the United Kingdom’s Covid protocol for people entering the country.
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