After announcing the capture of Vlad Chiriches and Erik Lamela a week last Friday, Tottenham rounded off a hectic day of transfer activity by acquiring Christian Eriksen from Ajax Amsterdam. With just one year left on his contract at the Dutch club, Spurs were able to snap up the 21-year-old for a bargain fee reported to be in the region of £11m to take their summer spending past the £100m mark:
The Dane is the eighth new face to arrive at the north London club as Andre Villas-Boas splashes the cash accrued from the transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. Following months of speculation linking him to Liverpool, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, Eriksen revealed Tottenham’s long-term interest was key to his decision:
“There were a lot of rumours, but I only felt right about the approach from Tottenham. The club followed me for a long time and really showed intent. It was the whole package that attracted me. I spoke briefly with the manager and my impression is that he is a very good manager. The goal is to challenge for the title. That is what the club wants and that is what I want. From the conversations I have had, they have indicated that they see me as an attacking midfielder, a creative player. They have also told me that you are expected to fight for a spot on the team because there are a lot of good players here. But, of course, I hope things will fall to my advantage.”
The History
A prodigious talent, Eriksen’s youth career began in his native country with Odense Boldklub where he quickly caught the attention of a number of major clubs. After trials with Chelsea, United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Milan, the playmaker opted to join Ajax’s youth system back in 2008.
Handed his first-team debut midway through the 2009/10 season, Eriksen produced just a single assist from 15 appearances (10 from the bench) as he was slowly introduced to the senior side. Firmly established as a regular the following year, Eriksen returned six goals and 11 assists from 28 appearances before stepping up again over the next couple of campaigns, producing a further 17 goals and 36 assists from 66 Eredivisie matches as he helped the Amsterdam side to three consecutive Dutch league titles. Eriksen also registered two goals and three assists from four league games this term prior to his move to White Hart Lane.
On the international stage, he has represented Denmark at every level from Under 16 to Under 21 a total of 38 times and notched 12 goals. Eriksen has also received 37 caps for the senior side, finding the net on four occasions.
The Prospects
Despite the multitude of midfield options available to Villas-Boas, Eriksen is expected to quickly establish himself as a regular in the Spurs starting XI. The main point of contention, however, is just where he will fit into the Tottenham side – at Ajax, he was fielded on the left of a midfield three as part of an inverted triangle, with one player sitting in front of the back-four and two pushing on in a 4-3-3 formation. Such a scenario could see a more defensively-disciplined player such as Sandro or Etienne Capoue given the job of screening the backline, allowing Eriksen, along with either Paulinho or Mousa Dembele, the chance to bomb forward and support Roberto Soldado.
Alternatively, Villas-Boas could revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation he opted for last season. The Spurs boss retained this system for the Gameweek 1 win over Crystal Palace, with Gylfi Sigurdsson tucked in behind Soldado, before shifting to a 4-3-3 in the subsequent two league fixtures. A role in “the hole” could be on the cards for the Dane if his manager chooses to go down this route, with Sigurdsson and the likes of Lewis Holtby looking set to drop further down the pecking order.
Speaking to the press after Sunday’s north London derby defeat at the Emirates, however, Villas-Boas offered up a somewhat ambiguous statement on the matter. The Portuguese boss conceded a 4-3-3 was “more or less the way we want to go forward this season,” before going on to praise Eriksen’s abilities by saying, “He is a wonderful creative player.. a good solution for our No 10 position”, then followed that up with, “In between those systems we will fall”.
Even the Spurs fans sites are uncertain of their manager’s intentions but whichever tactical set-up he ultimately decides upon, there is no question Villas-Boas must afford Soldado greater support up front. The Spaniard has been far too isolated in the past couple of games as the lone striker – an injection of creativity in the middle of the park is essential if Spurs are to get the best out of the former Valencia forward and Eriksen’s assured touch, vision and ability with either foot looks the ideal solution.
Coming in at 8.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), 7.0 in the Sky Sports game and 4.0 in the Sun Dream Team Eriksen’s delivery from set-pieces and corners, allied with a penchant for hitting the net from distance, makes him a real contender for our five-man midfields. With Lamela priced at 9.0 in FPL, the Dane’s more budget-friendly cost may well persuade owners to take a punt and also afford Soldado’s owners a greater degree of optimism, with the forward relying purely on spot-kicks as a source of goals thus far.
While the spotlight shines brightly on the other side of north London following Mesut Ozil’s arrival at Arsenal, Eriksen’s capture could turn out just as significant. Immediately, the Dane has been handed a kind run of fixtures to quickly make an impact – with home games against Norwich, West Ham, Hull and Newcastle, allied with trips to Cardiff and Villa in the next eight Gameweeks, Villas-Boas’ side will be confident of returning to winning ways as they face up to life in the top-flight without a certain Welshman.
10 years, 9 months ago@ TW Redmond that much better than Barkley? If so why you reckon so?