Grass Not Greener for Christian Eriksen

When any player moves from one football club to another, there is always the chance or perhaps risk that the move backfires and in the case of Christian Eriksen’s departure from Tottenham, you can comfortably say that this is the case.

With the North London outfit losing the 2019 Champions League Final to Liverpool, there was always a fear that a mass exodus was to follow, as a litany of superstars decided that the end of such a project has now been reached.

Players who no longer want to be the "bridesmaid" want to be the "bride" instead. Thankfully a huge amount of upheaval was avoided – whether you count the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino last November in that is up to you, there was always going to be a departure or two.

One move did eventually come - in the shape of Christian Eriksen - and after making public his desire to leave the club, it made the last year of his contracted employment at Tottenham a somewhat difficult situation.

That’s not to say the Danish international was a nuisance within the Tottenham camp or downed tools as such, it was just clear for all to see that his heart was no longer firmly planted within the N17 postcode.

This meant a move in the January transfer window was always going to be the best solution for all parties, as Tottenham would be able to recoup some form of transfer fee and Eriksen would get a move abroad.

Inn the past saw the Dane had been linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona and if there was ever a sense that the former Ajax midfielder was to move on, it would be a switch up the footballing hierarchy.

However, it was a switch that did not see him move upwards, but instead sideways and with Inter Milan acquiring his services at the start of the year, a new chapter in Eriksen’s career was finally set to begin.

However, if this is to be a new chapter, then it can only be described as something akin to a horror story and although hindsight is a wonderful thing, perhaps a move to the San Siro was not a move that should have been made.

Moving to Serie A was always going to be a challenge and perhaps the fact he made the switch halfway through the 2019/20 campaign, was one that allowed him the perfect period of competitive transition. Unfortunately for Inter’s brand new toy, he failed to sparkle in the second half of last season with just one league goal in 17 appearances. The bedding-in period was going to be longer than many first thought.

Admittedly Eriksen did not start all 17 of those games. In fact he only was named in a starting eleven on eight occasions and even with those mitigating circumstances, one goal and two assists fell short of overall expectation.

Expectations that have seen a shortfall in trust from manager Antonio Conte and with the first nine games of the 2020/21 Serie A season in the history books, Eriksen has only been selected to start on three occasions.

Now there is already talk of a return back to the Premier League and North London, although instead of Tottenham you must read Arsenal and if ever there was a way to burn your bridges, this would be the one. Then again, if you were to take a poll of Tottenham supporters, the percentage clamouring for a return would not be as high as you think and in current form, Eriksen is very much a leave it rather than take it player.

It seems that Inter’s own quest for the title may not be impacted by such a departure and when you look at the current Serie A odds, the Blue and Black half of Milan are currently priced as 9/4 favourites on sportsbookreview.

A price that offers something of a surprise, if only because they have been priced shorter than perennial favourites Juventus and if this Inter side can march on without the diminishing talent of Eriksen, then it is fair to say that the Dane would not be greatly missed.

On a personal level, the failure to kick on in Italy will be of huge disappointment and although Spurs fans might hold back from dishing out the schadenfreude, they are not likely to be offering much in terms of commiseration either.

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