Antonio Conte hints at Tottenham Hotspur reunion with Brentford star Christian Eriksen
According to the Evening Standard, Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has opened the door for Brentford star Christian Eriksen to return to Tottenham in the summer.
Eriksen spent seven long years with Spurs, helping the club to the final of the League Cup and the UEFA Champions League during his time with the club. A fan favourite at Tottenham, he eventually departed for Conte’s Inter Milan in 2020.
When asked if the Italian boss had discussed plans with the club to bring Eriksen back to Tottenham in the winter transfer window, Conte refuted any such claims of having done so. Conte goes on to add that he did not expect the Dane to return to English shores so quickly.
“No, honestly no. I was surprised about the situation because in my mind, honestly, I thought Christian needed more time before coming back to play in England.”
Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Euro 2020 while turning out for Denmark, which led to the player being fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device. At this point in time, the midfielder was still an Inter Milan player.
However, ICD devices are banned in Italian football and as a result, the Nerazzurri were forced to cut ties with the player. The Dane seems to have made a remarkable recovery since then and has now signed a six-month contract with Brentford to mark a return to the Premier League.
Summer return for Eriksen?
Eriksen and Conte worked well at the Giuseppe Meazza, where the duo helped the Italian side lift the Serie A trophy after 11 long years. It was the first title the Denmark international had won since leaving Ajax Amsterdam in 2013.
Conte hinted at a reunion once again, but this time with Spurs, as the manager spoke about Eriksen being part of the club’s story and admitting that he would love to work with the player again.
“For sure, Eriksen is part of Tottenham’s story. To come back here would be a good opportunity for him, for me and for the club. And you don’t know what will happen. It would be good for me to have him again, to work together again.”
A possible summer reunion with Eriksen would delight Spurs fans, as the Dane was one of Tottenham’s best players during his time in north London. The midfielder formed a crucial partnership with talisman Harry Kane, as the duo ran riot against Premier League opposition.
Like Conte, many would have been surprised to see Eriksen return to top-flight football so quickly after suffering such a serious heart condition. The English game is not kind to players who are not up to the task, and it remains to be seen if the Dane can still perform at his best.
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The next six months at Brentford will not only mark Eriksen’s return to action since Euro 2020 but also be a period where fans and Spurs can keep tabs on the player’s progress.
