“Show some respect” – Former Man United player’s passionate defence of critisised star

Christian Eriksen joined Manchester United in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer following his return to the Premier League with Brentford the prior season.

The Danish international slotted into a brand new midfield pairing alongside Casemiro, who signed from Real Madrid in the same summer.

It was a largely successful season for Eriksen, despite the extended lay-off in the back-end of the campaign after suffering injury against Reading in the FA Cup.

He contributed with 10 assists – second to Bruno Fernandes within the United squad – and helped with gaining more control in the middle of the park.

However, his defensive capabilities in the pivot were questioned and the addition of Mason Mount suggested that a squad role would come for Eriksen this term.

The England international’s injury has provided Eriksen the opportunity to start the last two games. He scored against Nottingham Forest and assisted Marcus Rashford’s goal against Arsenal.

Yet, a second midfield addition of Sofyan Amrabat suggests that strengthening that position next to Casemiro is key for Erik ten Hag.

Former United defender Paul Parker believes that despite being a solid option, the 31-year-old will not be a consistent starter across the campaign.

“Personally, I don’t think that Eriksen will get a key role this season,” Parker told SpilXperten.

“I hope he will get a lot of games because he is good enough to play but it all comes down to how the manager sees things and it doesn’t look good for him after all the new signings.

“Eriksen isn’t in the best position right now because he hasn’t had the same impact as he did last season.

“I hope he will get a lot of games because he is good enough to play but it all comes down to how the manager sees things and it doesn’t look good for him after all the new signings.”

Despite this opinion, Parker strongly stated that the midfielder deserves ‘respect’ amongst arguments about his defensive capabilities.

“Everyone wants to say that his legs are gone. That’s how it is with players his age. People were saying the same thing about Casemiro because he didn’t perform that well in the first few matches,” added Parker.

“But it’s a shame and if it goes down like this, people should not act disrespectful when talking about him. He has been a key asset for this league for a decade and people need to remember that. Show some respect.”

Eriksen has enjoyed a successful international break with Denmark, as they qualified for the upcoming European Championship tournament next year. He got one goal and two assists in the two games.