“I don’t want to sit on the bench anymore”…”I don’t want to sit on the bench anymore”
Christian Eriksen is a 32-year-old “veteran midfielder. Last season, he was the main midfielder in Eric ten Haag’s system and contributed to the team’s rise. But not this season. He started to get frustrated with his playing time and took his frustrations directly to Ten Haag.
“Eriksen said that he is unhappy at Manchester United because of the current situation,” European transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano wrote on his social media accounts on Monday (June 19).
Eriksen joined United last season. After suffering a massive heart attack at Euro 2020 with Inter Milan, Eriksen was sidelined for around eight months before joining Brentford and bouncing back with a half-season of decent performances. His final tally for the 2021-22 season was one goal and four assists in 11 games.
He moved to United ahead of the 2022-23 season. He quickly found a place in the starting midfield under Van Gaal, where he played at the peak of his powers. His final tally for the 2022-23 season was two goals and 10 assists in 44 games, making him arguably United’s best signing of the season considering he suffered a major injury midway through the campaign.
This season, however, the position is completely different, thanks to the arrival of ‘Supernova’ Mainu. Eriksen has now made 16 league appearances, but only nine starts and an average of just 56 minutes per game.
In one year, Eriksen’s position has changed 180 degrees. He openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Ten Haag. In an interview with Danish publication Tipsbladet, Eriksen said: “I spoke to Ten Haag about my current unhappiness and he told me that competition is inevitable because Minu is doing well and the rest of the midfield is also doing well. I also want to play as many games as possible, I don’t want to be on the bench all the time,” he said, expressing his frustration directly.