Brentford have initiated talks with Christian Eriksen’s camp to keep the 30-year-old beyond his six-month deal.
Eriksen’s heart failed him during Denmark’s game against Finland in Euro 2020 last year and as a result, the former Tottenham Hotspur man lost more than half a year of his professional career to recovery.
Inter Milan, Eriksen’s club at the time, terminated his contract due to local Italian laws that prevent athletes with a history of heart problems from competing in sports.
After training with two of his old clubs, Ødense Boldklub and Ajax Amsterdam, West London club Brentford, newcomers to the Premier League, snapped him up on a six-month deal in January.
Christian Eriksen is now getting back to his best, playing for Brentford in a league he is familiar with after spending almost a decade with Tottenham Hotspur. His performances have also earned him a return to the Danish national team.
Brentford, according to reports, have now decided to offer the Serie A winner an extension to his current contract at the club, as they hope to make an even bigger impact in the Premier League next season.
They will first have to win against Watford, Southampton, Everton and Leeds United in the coming weeks to guarantee another Premier League season, and Eriksen’s performances so far give them belief that a clean sweep is possible.
This, according to reports, is why they want to keep the Dane at the club. It is also reported that Eriksen is open to an extension if the Bees can stay up.
Brentford manager misses out on Danish coaching prize
Elsewhere, Thomas Frank, Brentford manager, has missed out on the 2021 Danish Football Association Coach of the Year prize.
The 48-year-old former Danish youth coach won the award in 2020 for leading Brentford to the Premier League for the first time in their history. He was also the first Danish coach working outside the country to win the prize.
He has now been beaten to the 2021 award by the manager of the Danish national team, Kasper Hjulmand.
The award is voted for by a total of 64 coaches from the top flight of Danish football, the Danish Superliga, to the third division, the top two women’s football divisions, and coaches of all the Danish national teams across gender and age grades.
The 2021 nomination is Frank’s second ever and the second year in a row in which he has made the cut. The top four was completed by Brøndby’s Niels Frederiksen, Mainz ‘Bo Svensson and eventual winner Hjulmand.
Hjulmand took Denmark to the Semi-Final of the UEFA 2020 European Championships last summer, killing giants and playing some impressive football. This performance earned him the award.
