Athletic: Brentford in talks to sign Christian Eriksen on short-term contract

This is not really a Tottenham Hotspur transfer rumor, but it does involve Christian Eriksen, who many Spurs fans still consider “one of their own.” Now six months after Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during this summer’s EURO Championships and nearly died, he is close to a dramatic return to the Premier League. According to the Athletic, Brentford has offered Eriksen a six month contract during this month’s open transfer window with the option of extending for another year.

Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac incident on the pitch while playing for Denmark in the EUROS, was fitted with an implanted defibrillator. He has been cleared to play football again by doctors, but Serie A has regulations in place that prevented him from taking the pitch for his current club, Inter Milan with such a device. Eriksen and Inter terminated his contract by mutual consent several weeks ago, making him a free agent.

Reports had swirled over the past week or so that there were several Premier League clubs interested in signing Christian, though Tottenham were reportedly not one of them. That didn’t stop the rumors — Antonio Conte was asked about Eriksen, whom he coached at Inter, and said that “the door is always open” for his return, a sufficiently vague enough statement to make people wonder.

According to the Athletic, Eriksen preferred to return to London as he enjoyed his time at Tottenham and in the city. Brentford is a good choice in that regard, and the Bees are managed by a fellow Dane, Thomas Frank, with whom Eriksen has a good relationship. The length of the proposed contract suggests that Brentford are taking his return cautiously, but it’s still a low-risk signing with a very high upside. We all know what Eriksen can do, and even if it takes him a while to get back up to speed (it will) Eriksen is an outstanding creative midfielder. He’d almost certainly command huge wages for a club like Brentford, but it’s a short enough contract that it won’t be too onerous, and he might even be able to ensure that the Bees stay in the Premier League for more than a season.

The idea of Eriksen making a shock return to Tottenham always seemed fanciful at best, but he’s still one of my favorite Spurs players from the past decade. He absolutely deserves good things, and if the transfer pans out I hope he’s able to get back to something close to his potential with Brentford. It’d be an incredible comeback story.