It was back on July 15 that Manchester United announced the acquisition of Danish winger/attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen. It took until today, 11 days later that we saw him in a United shirt. On July 16, the club announced that they had signed Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez, and yes, we still haven’t seen that guy wearing his new red shirt yet. Why the delays? Well, Lord only knows, but the wait was (and still is) so long that it send some United fans into a frenzy online.
But hey, Christian Eriksen is now officially part of the team, so let’s take a look at the statements and the videos from the club.
Born to wear Red ??
? @ChrisEriksen8#MUFC pic.twitter.com/YmmTwl0z6S
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 26, 2022
Christian Eriksen said to the club’s website:
“[Matches at Old Trafford have] always been very good. There have been some very tough games in between, but always good memories.
“It’s always been very special to play at Old Trafford. In general, playing against such a big club like Manchester United, there’s always something with it,” Like I said, it’s going to be weird being on the other side.”
An artist on the pitch ?@ChrisEriksen8 is here and we could not be prouder to have him ??#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 26, 2022
The 30-year-old former Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur man could feature in one, if not both of the team’s final preseason friendlies this summer. He is also in line to make his United regular season debut when the Red Devils kickoff the season on August 6 (that’s less than two weeks away now) at home against Brighton & Hove Albion.
“It’ll be very intense and, hopefully, a good way to start off my United career,” Christian Eriksen said of the 2022-23 curtain raiser. “[It’s] the perfect place to do it, at Old Trafford.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.