Brentford offer Christian Eriksen six month contract

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Brentford offer Christian Eriksen six-month contract as Bees open the door for a Premier League return for Denmark star after his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020… with ex-Spurs star mulling over his options amid interest from three other English clubs

  • Brentford are reportedly in talks with Christian Eriksen over a return to football 
  • The 29-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest during Euro 2020 last summer 
  • He left Inter by mutual consent as Serie A rules did not allow him to play
  • The Bees have offered Eriksen a six-month deal with an option of a further year 

By Tom Collomosse For The Daily Mail and Daniel Matthews For The Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:


Christian Eriksen has been offered a deal by Brentford and is a target for three other Premier League clubs as he closes in on a remarkable return.

The Denmark playmaker is ready to resume his career after suffering a cardiac arrest during his country’s Euro 2020 game with Finland on June 12.

Sportsmail revealed on January 4 that Eriksen was attracting interest from English clubs and was likely to begin training with a team this month.

Christian Eriksen is in talks with Brentford over a sensational return to the Premier League

It is understood Brentford have offered him an initial six-month deal, although Sportsmail has been told no further talks with the player’s representatives have been held for more than a week.

Eriksen remains in negotiations with other clubs. Brentford are understood to be one of four from the Premier League and about a dozen globally.

A decision is not expected until later this month, although he favours a move to England. Eriksen was settled in London during his six-and-a-half years at Tottenham and would welcome the chance to return to the city.

Brentford boss Frank has done a top job with the Bees

Eriksen is looking for a new club after leaving Inter

Thomas Frank’s (L) side offered Eriksen (R) a six-month deal with an option of a further year

The 29-year-old worked under Brentford boss Thomas Frank in Denmark’s youth ranks and has several international team-mates in the Bees dressing room, including midfielders Mathias Jensen and Christian Norgaard and defender Mathias Jorgensen.

Clubs in Holland and Germany have also made contact, as well as teams from US Major League Soccer, though the latter option seems unlikely.

Eriksen’s contract with Inter Milan was terminated in December. Italian rules prevent him from playing as he has an internal defibrillator, but he was given medical clearance to resume his career before Christmas.

‘My goal is to play in the World Cup in Qatar,’ Eriksen told Danish broadcaster DR this month. ‘I want to prove I have moved on and that I can play for the national team again. It’s up to the manager to assess my level but my heart is not an obstacle.’

Eriksen would, however, need to be assessed by a cardiac specialist before being allowed to play in England.

Professor Sanjay Sharma, chair of the FA’s expert cardiac consensus panel, said in November: ‘If he did decide to come to the UK, we would respect athlete autonomy and there would be a shared decision-making process.

‘He’d be the first player in this country that’s ever played with a defibrillator. It would be a novel situation for all of us and we’d have to somehow deal with that.’

Eriksen, 29, suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 and was fitted with an ICD afterwards

Eriksen, 29, suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 and was fitted with an ICD afterwards

Christian Eriksen whipped in a quality free-kick into the top corner.

He has been continuing his work on the training pitch at Swiss club Chiasso

Christian Eriksen has been continuing his work on the training pitch and showed he’s still got it

FA’S EXPERT: LOTS TO CONSIDER FOR CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN IF HE WANTS TO RETURN TO FOOTBALL

Professor Sanjay Sharma, chair of the FA’s expert cardiac consensus panel, who also screened Eriksen at Spurs, told Sportsmail in November:

‘If he did decide to come to somewhere like the UK, we would definitely respect athlete autonomy and there would be a shared decision making process where we would weigh up the pros and cons of what could happen to him if he carried on playing but it wouldn’t be a point-blank no, like it was in Italy.

‘One would have to sit him down and talk to him about the pros and cons of playing and, it’s one thing having a defibrillator but how confident can one be that that will always work – in the 89th minute when you’re really hot, bothered, dehydrated?

‘The device – can that get damaged? Football is a very, very heavy contact sport and gets heavier and heavier. Taking knocks, chesting the ball down – all sorts of things, how does the device function after that?

‘There are lots of little things you would talk about. I would be governed by the players’ wishes. I’d try and steer them in a direction but if they don’t want to go in the direction we want, we’d then have to make sure that we’ve got the capacity to do everything we possibly can if they ever did have a cardiac arrest and that device ever failed them. If he played, he’d be the first player in this country that’s ever played with a defibrillator in situ. So it would be a novel situation for all of us… and we’d have to somehow deal with that.’

 

Outside England, there are clubs in Holland and Germany who have made contact with Eriksen’s camp, as well as teams from Major League Soccer, though it is thought the latter option is highly unlikely at this stage.

Eriksen’s contract with Inter Milan was terminated in December. Italian regulations prevent him from playing in Serie A as he is fitted with an internal defibrillator, but he was given full medical clearance to resume his career before Christmas.

‘My goal is to play in the World Cup in Qatar,’ Eriksen said in an interview with Danish broadcaster DR earlier this month. I want to prove I have moved on and that I can play for the national team again. Again it’s up to the manager to assess my level. But my heart is not an obstacle.’

Eriksen would, however, need to be assessed by a cardiac specialist before being allowed to play in England.