EPL

Eriksen makes sensational Premier League return with Brentford

By Sports Desk January 31, 2022

Christian Eriksen has signed for Brentford as he completes a remarkable return to the Premier League after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

The Denmark international collapsed during a clash with Finland last June and subsequently required surgery to fit an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) to his heart.

Rules in Italy prevent players from playing after having such a device fitted, so the 29-year-old's time with Inter came to an end.

However, it is not illegal to play professional sport in England with an ICD, nor in the Netherlands – where Daley Blind could continue playing fo Ajax after having the device fitted.

Eriksen had been training at his former club Odense to build up his fitness, while he also recently joined Ajax's training sessions with the Eredivisie leaders' reserve side.

Fellow Dane Thomas Frank has now acted by signing the former Tottenham man, who he coached when the midfielder was in Denmark's Under-17s side, on a deal until the end of the season.

"I am looking forward to working with Christian again," Bees boss Frank told the club's official website. "It has been a while since I last coached him, and a lot has happened since then.

"Christian was 16 at the time and has become one of the best midfield players to appear in the Premier League. He has also won trophies all over Europe and become the star of the Danish national team.

“We have taken an unbelievable opportunity to bring a World Class player to Brentford. He hasn’t trained with a team for seven months but has done a lot of work on his own. He is fit but we will need to get him match fit and I am looking forward to seeing him work with the players and staff to get back towards his highest level.

“At his best, Christian has the ability to dictate games of football. He can find the right passes and is a goal threat. He also has very, very good set-piece delivery, both from corners and direct free-kicks.

"He is a player you can find with the ball, and he will come up with a solution to the problem in front of him. Christian will also bring experience of top level football to the Club. I expect him to have an impact in the dressing room and at the training ground."

Eriksen appeared 226 times in the English top flight for Spurs, scoring 56 times and assisting 62.

The playmaker still holds the club record at Spurs for most assists in a single Premier League campaign, recording 15 during the 2016-17 season.

He joined Inter on a four-and-a-half-year deal in January 2020 and was a part of Antonio Conte's title-winning team that ended a 10-year wait for the Scudetto last season.

Brentford have lost their past four Premier League games, leaving them 14th in the table. They are next in action in the FA Cup against Everton on Saturday.

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