Former Man Utd defender Paul Parker reckons Christian Eriksen has “proved everyone wrong” with his recent performances for the Red Devils.
The Red Devils won their opening Premier League match against Fulham but lost back-to-back games against Brighton and arch-rivals Liverpool before the international break.
But, since Eriksen has returned to the starting XI under Erik ten Hag, Man Utd have looked better with the Denmark international bringing a bit more control in midfield.
Eriksen, who was reportedly transfer listed in the summer as he was surplus to requirements, has now started the last four Man Utd matches in all competitions with the Red Devils beating Southampton and Barnsley, and drawing against Crystal Palace and FC Twente.
And former Man Utd full-back Parker has hailed the impact of Eriksen after looking for a new club to play for in the summer transfer window.
Parker told SpilXperten: “Eriksen has proved everyone wrong. It’s absolutely crazy because, not long ago, we were talking about how he should start looking for a new club. It seemed like his options were at the level of Ajax, Galatasaray, or maybe a return to Denmark. It doesn’t make any sense to me that he’s suddenly a regular starter, at least for now.
“It’ll be interesting, of course, to see if Ugarte comes in and takes his spot, but why would they drop him? Sure, there are mistakes here and there, but that’s football. Right now, he’s crucial for Manchester United.
“He’s crucial because he helps the team be more dominant than they have been otherwise. They hadn’t been in control at all until Eriksen came in and started dictating the game. In many ways, he is what people said United needed to go out and buy in the transfer market.
“Obviously, it depends on whether Erik ten Hag continues to play this way because if he wants to focus on counter-attacking football, Eriksen doesn’t fit that style. Eriksen isn’t someone who should be chasing the ball, he’ll come up short in that situation.
“Of course, he’s still not a long-term solution, but if he can keep playing at this level, then he has to play. It’s incredible, and I’m genuinely happy for him. He’s such a good guy and has handled himself very professionally in a tough period.
“He’s definitely a role model, no question about it. He’s shown that hard work can pay off. It’s also not unlikely that with this turnaround, he could get a few more years at the club, and maybe there will even be a role for him after his playing career.”
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Man Utd host Tottenham – who are on the same amount of points after five Premier League matches – over the weekend and former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp reckons it will be a 2-2 draw.
Redknapp told BetVictor:”Just as soon as Manchester United start to settle down and play, they have a couple of lacklustre performances and everybody’s back to square one. You never know which United are going to turn up. I think they’ll surprise everyone this weekend with a decent performance, but it’ll be frustration time at Old Trafford yet again.
“All credit to Ange Postecoglou in Europe, they went down to 10 men early in the game, but his team produced a professional performance to win the game 3-0. Spurs were sensational against Brentford and it’s encouraging to see Dominic Solanke banging them in. That’s just what any new player needs.
“I’m looking forward to this match, but I bet the Man United fans will watching it from behind the sofa! Manchester United 2-2 Tottenham.”
