MY ACCOUNT
Christian Eriksen would have a statue built in his honour in the next “two, three years” should he stay at Brentford, Thomas Frank has said.
Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest when playing for Denmark against Finland at Euro 2020, but survived the ordeal.
However, the 30-year-old was unable to play for Inter due to medical rulings in Italy preventing players from competing after having a cardioverter-defibrillator fitted.
Brentford subsequently offered the midfielder a six-month contract in January and Eriksen has starred, scoring once and assisting four in 10 league games to lift Brentford way clear of any danger.
Eriksen has also created 26 chances since his Brentford debut in February, with only Son Heung-min (27), Martin Odegaard (33) and Kevin De Bruyne (37) laying on more opportunities in the Premier League in that period.
Manchester United and Eriksen’s former club Tottenham are reportedly circling, but Frank has reiterated his desire for his compatriot to stay with Brentford.
“I’d love to say 100 per cent but I am convinced there is a good chance that he will wear a Brentford shirt [next season],” he said of Eriksen at a news conference on Thursday.
“The way we play, our environment, and the role he is given, gives him an opportunity to flourish and play his best game.
“He enjoys going to work every day and I still think you can be extremely ambitious playing for us.
“I know I am optimistic, but I also picked up the phone and called him and said ‘do you want to come to Brentford’, no one thought about that six months ago.
“So I’m convinced we will have a chance, the way I see it for us it is a win-win. He helped the team, he gave something to the fans they have never seen before at this level.
“We helped him back to his football life again, for Christian it’s a win-win, either he signs for us and everyone will be happy.
“The fans will build a statue of him outside the stadium in two, three years’ time or he goes to a bigger level and we will applaud him and we will say thank you for your time; go forward.”
Brentford will be hoping Eriksen can deliver again when they conclude their maiden Premier League season on Sunday against relegation-threatened Leeds United.
