Man Utd plan transfer for Eriksen as De Jong talks stall over £65m Barca move

MANCHESTER UNITED’s struggles to sign Frenkie de Jong have opened the door for a surprise FREE transfer for Christian Eriksen, according to reports.

The Brentford playmaker, who becomes a free agent this summer, has impressed upon his return to the Premier League.

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This has generated significant interest in his services from the likes of former club Tottenham and Frank Lampard’s Everton.

But now United are set to also turn their attention towards the 30-year-old, according to the Mirror.

Erik ten Hag wants to make his transfer budget stretch as far as possible, and the free transfer of Eriksen is one option he, and the United hierarchy, are considering.

United are desperate to add quality in midfield, but thus far their efforts to sign Barcelona’s De Jong are hitting a major stumbling block.

The Red Devils poor campaign under Ralf Rangnick saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League – a fact underlined by the Austria coach having the club’s worst record for any manager in the Premier League era.

This has proven to be a huge problem in convincing De Jong, 25, to join Ten Hag’s United revolution, as he wants to carry on playing Champions League football.

United believe they can strike a deal with Barcelona due to the club’s financial situation demanding them to consider approaches for all non-key personnel.

De Jong is an important player for Xavi’s side, but the emergence of Pedri and Gavi has made the possibility of a transfer for the Dutchman more likely.

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They are prepared to make him the club’s highest-paid player on nearly £400,000 a week and pay £65million to sign him.

Nevertheless, progress in the talks has been slow to say the least, making United consider other options like Eriksen.

Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening fixture of Euro 2020, and it was only thanks to the quick actions of his teammates and the paramedics that his life was saved.

Upon his recovery, Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardiovascular defibrillator (ICD), but under Serie A rules he would not be permitted to play for Inter Milan with it fitted.

After being released by the Serie A runner-ups, Brentford took a chance on Eriksen and gave him a six-month contract.

He played 11 games in the Premier League for Thomas Frank’s side, scoring once and contributing four assists.

With United losing a number of players this summer including midfielders Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, and Jesse Lingard an acquisition such as Eriksen makes sense to both replenish numbers and add quality.

However, the aforementioned interest from Champions League qualifying Spurs could prove too persuasive if Antonio Conte sanctions the signing for an emotional comeback to his former club.