I saw the news earlier today that Christian Eriksen could be offered a deal at Manchester United after his successful short spell at Brentford.
I was delighted for him that it went so well there, and I know I wasn’t alone in the football world when I was hoping that he would experience so adverse effects after what he went through.
Obviously he’s a fantastic player. My reservation is, actually, to do with his age – at 30, it does feel like a repeat of transfers United have tried to do in recent years, bringing in older heads for shorter spells. I expect that United could get more out of Eriksen than they did Edinson Cavani, for example, but my concern is that it is another short-term solution to a longer term problem.
Let me be clear, though, I’m not saying it would be a bad move – he’s an experienced playmaker and clearly able to compete in the top flight – but United are at a point where Erik ten Hag has had a clear out and I wonder if it’s a step forward to be bringing in a player who is closer to the end of his career than the start of it.
That said, it does seem as though those younger playmakers are getting harder to find, and when you do find them, you’re paying over the odds for a player not yet developed – so Eriksen, out of contract, and with modest wages, might well be a sensible option in the short term.
United have yet to get going in the transfer market, at least as far as any incomings go – but Ten Hag has just started in the job, and we have to remember that there have been a lot of exits, so that is a lot of conversations for him to have been having.
It remains to be seen, but with Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs already adding to their squad, there will be hopes that United can start to strengthen soon. They just have to be sensible – how many times have they spent for the sake of it over the years, and how many millions have been wasted?
In the post-season England have been participating in the Nations League and I have to be honest and say I’m not a big fan of the competition. I feel it’s crossed the line over firstly what’s healthy for the players and secondly what counts as enough football and too much – these games have not been at a high standard as far as I’m concerned.
And it also seems a double standard as far as the governing bodies are concerned as well – they were in uproar about the proposed European Super League but have been quite happy for this to go on when surely it would be better for the players to have received a proper rest ahead of the new season – especially considering the scheduling of the World Cup.
It probably won’t be long until they have qualifiers for qualifiers all in the name of getting the poor teams out of the way before the big boys come in – and it just feels against the nature of the game.
And don’t get me started on the ideas for kick-ins and no throwing. If you’re going to go that way – why not just create a whole new sport?
