‘I would leave’: 3 G/A United whiz addresses Old Trafford future after club director divulges summer talks

Few Manchester United fans – and perhaps even the player himself – expected Christian Eriksen to be starting games for the club this season.

Yet, a calamitous performance from Casemiro vs Liverpool prior to the international break saw the Dane called upon for last Saturday’s trip to face Southampton at St. Mary’s and barring a cagey first half-hour, he oversaw a relatively successful 73 minutes on the pitch.

Eriksen had been benched for the entirety of United’s opening two matches, but had been given the nod vs the Saints ahead of new recruit Manuel Ugarte, who is yet to make his first start since his deadline day switch from Paris Saint-Germain.

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Erik ten Hag again called upon the 32-year-old when fielding last night’s heavily-rotated XI that took on Barnsley in the third-round Carabao Cup tie at Old Trafford. Eriksen proceeded to repay his manager’s faith, returning two goals and an assist across the 90-minute tie.

It is, however, unlikely that he will retain his place when the Reds take to Selhurst Park this coming Saturday. Ten Hag will, presumably, deem Ugarte ready to feature from the off, and Kobbie Mainoo, who was rested last night, will return to his usual spot in front of the backline.

As such, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan whiz was quizzed on his United future after his stellar showing on Tuesday evening, having now entered the final 12 months of his contract.

Eriksen weighs in on United future after holding summer talks over move

“I feel very good being at United. If they told me to leave, I would leave, but I didn’t hear that,” he admitted, per the Daily Mail.

“I’m also a guy who likes being in a place where my family is settled and at the same time being in a place where I can benefit and play, that’s always going to be my aim.

“It’s difficult to ask the manager in the off-season how many minutes I’m going to get in a season. If he starts promising minutes to players we’re going to have a long season. There was no speaking in that sense, just head down, work hard and focus on each game.

“There’s one year left so my focus is going to be on this year, going full out and see what happens afterwards.”

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Earlier this week, Anderlecht director Jesper Fredberg revealed they’d had the ‘absolute opportunity’ to sign Eriksen during the summer window, but a deal ultimately failed to materialise.