Inter Milan knows well the logical lapse it would take for Christian Eriksen to wear a jersey in Serie A, and has agreed to release the recovering star from his contract.
The Serie A champions hailed Eriksen, 29, as a “composer of the finest music” on the football field after terminating his deal over a Serie A rule that doesn’t allow a player to play with an implantable cardiac defibrillator.
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Eriksen has been training on his own at the grounds of his first club, Odense Boldklub, but it is unclear when or if he’ll return to the pitch following a harrowing and near-tragic cardiac incident at EURO 2020.
The ex-Tottenham player is being hailed by Inter as “a key figure in our march to the scudetto” by Inter, creating a very talented free agent.
“Although Inter and Christian are now parting ways, the bond shall never be broken. The good times, the goals, the victories, those Scudetto celebrations with fans outside San Siro – all this will remain forever in Nerazzurri history.”
What’s next for Christian Eriksen, who visited Inter to see his scudetto in August? We consider that after the jump.
What’s next for Christian Eriksen?
Christian Eriksen is an intriguing proposition for almost any team in a league without similar ICD rules to Serie A.
Assuming that it’s safe for Eriksen to return to the pitch, that the Danish star is comfortable taking the field, and that team doctors are comfortable with his ICD — all significant conditionals — Eriksen could well play anywhere.
As for precedent, Daley Blind still plays for Ajax with a pacemaker and is not the only top-level player to do so. Coincidentally, Ajax was Eriksen’s club for 4.5 years prior to his Tottenham move.
Eriksen’s departure from Tottenham was a sore and dragged-out exit, but the boss who brought him to Inter is now Spurs’ manager. Could a reunion with Antonio Conte be in the cards? Is Ajax the play? Might an outside-the-box option be Eriksen’s preference, as the playmaker left Spurs only in search of bigger trophies?
He’s 2.5 seasons removed from his last 10-goal, 10-assist season, but few players hit the mark year-upon-year and Eriksen indeed played 1,400 minutes when Inter ended Juve’s long hold on Serie A’s top spot.
Let’s hope he’s back, healthy, and strong… and if that means playing, even better.
