Christian Eriksen agrees three-year Manchester United deal

Christian Eriksen has agreed to join Manchester United on a three-year contract, ending the club’s summer-long pursuit of the Danish playmaker.

The signing also continues a remarkable return to the game by the 30-year-old, barely 13 months after he suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020.

Eriksen spent the end of last season with Brentford, scoring once in 11 Premier League games, and they were desperate to keep him for the upcoming season.

Telegraph Sport understands that Brentford had made it clear to Eriksen that they would shatter their wage structure to keep him at the club, making him comfortably their highest-paid player.

Brentford hoped that their willingness to offer an opportunity to Eriksen earlier this year, and to then provide all the required medical support behind the scenes, would convince him to stay in west London.

His decision to move to United completes a reunion with new United manager Erik ten Hag, with the midfielder having trained informally at Ajax before resuming his career in England.

While Eriksen impressed after returning to Premier League action in February, his signing does not address the lack of goalscoring threat that Ten Hag will need to confront if Cristiano Ronaldo follows through with his apparent desire to leave the club.

But in a summer in which United have been widely criticised for their lack of activity in the transfer market, his signing will represent a success.

Eriksen courted interest from Tottenham earlier in the summer and had multiple offers from across Europe as his availability became known.

Sources have told Telegraph Sport that Eriksen was still being offered to clubs this weekend. Those involved in the discussions were under the impression he was hoping for a contract worth £200,000-a-week and a signing-on fee of around £10m.

Ultimately, the choice came down to Brentford and United, however, and it appears that the influence of Ten Hag may well have been the deciding factor.

Most of United’s transfer activity this summer has been directed towards Ten Hag’s past, and the Netherlands in general, and Eriksen continues that trend.

He began his senior career with Ajax, spending just over four seasons with the Dutch club before joining Spurs in 2013 and establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s leading lights.

Having indicated his decision, Eriksen will now undergo stringent medical tests with United which, despite events of last summer, are not expected to prove a problem.

Ten Hag will hope to have the versatile attacking midfielder in his squad when they leave for a pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia on Friday.

It was a measure of Eriksen’s impact at Brentford that the club’s players were more than happy for the wage structure to be shattered by the 30-year-old.

Senior stars at Brentford were desperate for the club to do anything possible to keep Eriksen, who was a popular member of the dressing room and was regarded as a player who made others better.

Brentford believed it would be cheaper to offer Eriksen a huge deal rather than investing a hefty transfer fee in a different option who was not already settled at the club.

Eriksen’s decision to join United instead will force Brentford to pivot towards other targets. They are understood to be closing in on deals for Hull City forward Keane Lewis-Potter and Bologna and Scotland full-back Aaron Hickey.