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Christian Eriksen ‘wants to remain in London’ in blow to Manchester United

Published 12:54 18 Jun 2022 BST

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Does anyone actually want to play for United anymore?

Manchester United's attempts to sign literally *anyone* this summer appear to have taken a fresh blow, with Christian Eriksen said to favour playing for a club in London next season rather than a move up north. United are said to have tabled an offer for Eriksen, who, after recovering from the cardiac arrest he suffered at the Euros last summer, spent the second half of the season with Brentford. Brentford are believed to be keen on having him back next season, as are his former club Tottenham, whose manager Antonio Conte also managed him while at Inter Milan.

Eriksen Spurs return 'fairly likely'

While United's failure to secure Champions League football next term was not thought to have been a problem to their hopes of recruiting the Denmark international, it now seems the deal may be off. Charlie Eccleshare wrote in The Athletic that it was 'fairly likely' he returned to Spurs, with Eriksen wanting to stay put in the capital. This, therefore, means it would be a case of either Spurs or Brentford - not United. The Bees' managers Thomas Frank held discussions with Eriksen when they met for dinner last week and the player is now thought to be taking time to consider his options. Spurs have already bolstered their squad for next season with the addition of Yves Bissouma from Brighton and Ivan Perisic from Inter. Fraser Forster has also arrived on a free from Southampton.

United yet to bring any signings in

United, meanwhile, are yet to sign anyone, despite being expected to overhaul their first team squad in time for the start of Erik ten Hag's first season in charge at Old Trafford. They continue to be strongly linked with Frenkie de Jong, who Barcelona are keen to offload to ease their financial woes. As is usually the case, several thousand other names have also been linked with them, with very little sign any of them will actually make the move. The club have also confirmed Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Lee Grant will depart on free transfers, with Nemanja Matic already completing a move to Roma.