West Ham’s Christian Eriksen failure could end European dream amid David Moyes admission
West Ham were offered the chance to bring Christian Eriksen back to the Premier League before he signed for Brentford, David Moyes has admitted.
The 30-year-old was without a club having been released by Inter, due to the ICD device that was implanted in his chest following cardiac arrest playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 being prohibited in Serie A.
He subsequently signed for Thomas Frank’s Bees, and has recently been in excellent form, including scoring his first goal for the club in the shock 4-1 win at Chelsea, and finding the net against Serbia and Netherlands on international duty.
Moyes is quoted by the Daily Star saying: “Yes, he was mentioned to us – and to a few clubs about coming back. Eriksen is a player a lot of people would look at and think, ‘my goodness’. But I think everybody was more unsure then. And to be honest there’s the huge Danish connection at Brentford, with the manager and some of their players.
“They maybe had more insight on him than the rest of us – on his health and when he was going to come back. I don’t think he played for a couple of months after he first signed for Brentford. A lot of people wondered how it was going to work out.
“He’s an inspiration to so many – to keep going and not give up. But I don’t think we ever doubted his footballing ability. Everybody recognises he’s a top footballer.”
The difference
There was certainly doubt over the former Tottenham man’s ability to perform considering the seriousness of his health issue.
And in truth there is probably still concern among many about how safe it is for him to be playing.
But since he wants to, and he has been given the go ahead, he is making the most of his opportunity with some stand-out recent displays.
The news that he was bypassed by the Hammers will be a huge frustration for fans considering what he could do in this side.
Even though Eriksen has been excelling in a midfield three, Moyes tends to employ something more like his favoured number 10 role via a combination of Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma.
All are decent performers for the Irons, but the quality that the one-time Ajax player brings, and his experience in Europe, could have been the difference in this season’s Europa League run, and Premier League European push.
There was much frustration with the complete lack of signings in January, and although money was offered for Darwin Nunez, Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips they weren’t available.
Eriksen was not only available, but specifically offered, and was also a free agent so wouldn’t have been the type of expensive risk that the manager avoids.
He signed a six-month deal across the capital so there could still be the chance to rectify the mistake in the summer, but if he’s established at Brentford it could now be too late.
In other West Ham news, a potential “Mark Noble replacement” should be given a first-team chance.
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