According to William Pugh of The Sun, Manchester United are preparing ‘to swoop’ for Christian Eriksen in January after missing out on his signature over the summer. Eriksen’s contract is up in 2020 and he’s no closer to putting pen to paper on an extension, so Spurs may have to cash in early rather than risk losing him for nothing.
The 27-year-old was keen to leave Tottenham when Real Madrid were showing an interest, but a deal never materialised. United are hoping to capitalise on Eriksen’s uncertain future, but whether he’d consider a move to Old Trafford remains to be seen. Tottenham won’t want to strengthen a Premier League rival, but they also don’t want Eriksen to leave on a free transfer next July.
The Sun say United were willing to pay £70m for the Danish international, but he’s likely to be available for much less money on account of his expiring contract. The report also says Eriksen was flattered by their interest despite favouring a move to Real, so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have some hope of landing the £75k-per-week man. It would be a sideways step rather than forward, however.
Nevertheless, Tottenham either need to tie Eriksen down to a new deal or sell up in January.