Nigel Reo-Coker questions why Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur did not pursue Christian Eriksen, who has been an ‘absolute revelation’ at Manchester United, during the summer transfer window.
Spurs are a ‘hard watch,’ according to the former Premier League midfielder, and they are missing a player with Eriksen’s creative quality in the middle of the park.
Eriksen became a free agent in the summer after his short-term contract at Brentford expired.
After missing Euro 2020 due to a health scare, the 30-year-old was given a chance to return by Thomas Frank’s newly-promoted Brentford during the January transfer window of 2022.
Just like in north London, the quick-thinking playmaker shone brightly and assisted his countryman in keeping Brentford in the Premier League.
That’s when interest in Eriksen grew, and instead of staying at Griffin Park, he joined Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, but Reo-Coker believes it was a missed opportunity from Tottenham, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport.
“They need a new goalkeeper,” Reo-Coker said. “They need another center-back and I think, for me, creativity is something that is lacking in this Spurs side.
“I agree it’s a Conte style of play – I don’t understand why they didn’t go back for Christian Eriksen after he did that year at Brentford because Eriksen has been an absolute revelation at Manchester United.
“I can see him being in this Tottenham side and being a difference-maker. Tottenham, to me, is such a hard team to watch. They are really a hard watch. I would rather watch paint dry than Tottenham, right now and Eriksen is a player they are missing.”
ERIKSEN FLYING HIGH AT MANCHESTER UNITED
Just because Eriksen is doing well under ten Hag, it doesn’t mean the same would have happened under Conte.
From the Dane’s 19 Premier League games this season, he already has seven assists to his name, that’s because he has players on his wavelength in and around him, such as Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
Added to that, he plays in a possession-based system that allows him to start playing further up the pitch and, as a result, make the ball talk in the key areas.
This wouldn’t have been the case at Spurs because Conte prefers a two-man midfield, and those players, can’t have the freedom to bomb forward.
Eriksen has played in a Conte system before, assisting only three times from 60 games, which tells you everything. He only started performing during the second half of Inter’s title-winning season, so whilst Spurs need a player of his ilk, the man in their dugout doesn’t.
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