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Written by Martin Graham | May 21 2022
Brentford coach Thomas Frank is trying to persuade midfielder Christian Eriksen to stay at the club by promising him a statue.
Eriksen, 30, moved to Brentford in the January transfer window after spending the first six months of the season recovering from a heart problem he suffered with Denmark at Euro 2020.
After signing with Inter Milan at the time, the Danish midfielder had to end his association with the Italians due to a local law that prevents athletes with heart problems from competing professionally.
Frank, an Eriksen native, reached out to him and offered him a contract to get him to taste first-team football again to restart him. Eriksen thrived at the small London club, contributing five goals (one goal and four assists) in 10 Premier League matches.
He has also managed to get back into the Denmark squad, where his goal percentage since his return to international football has been much better than it was at Brentford.
His performances at Brentford Community Stadium once again attracted the interest of several clubs, including former Tottenham Hotspur, run by the man who took him to Italy, Antonio Conte.
The former Ajax Amsterdam midfielder is said to be considering his future at Brentford with more reports suggesting he is open to a move. This was understandable because Eriksen wanted to compete for titles again, having entered his thirties and near the end of his career.
However, Brentford is doing everything in his power to keep him and now, the club’s manager, Frank, has made a big promise to erect a statue of Eriksen if he stays at a small club in London.
A win-win situation
Frank made that promise to the player through his pre-match press conference ahead of the club’s Premier League final against struggling Leeds United for relegation.
“I would say 100%, but I am convinced there is a good chance he will wear a Brentford shirt (after this season),” Frank said.
“I know I’m an optimist but I also picked up the phone and said, ‘Hey, do you want to come to Brentford? Nobody thought about that in six months. I’m convinced we’ll have a chance.”
Frank, who also coached Eriksen as a youth international for Denmark’s Under-17 team, stated that the player would win from the deal, as would Brentford, regardless of the outcome. “Either he signs with us and everyone will be happy and the fans will build a statue of him outside the stadium in two or three years,” Frank said.
“Or he takes it to a bigger level and the fans will applaud him and we’ll all say, ‘Thank you for this time, go ahead.’ He helped the team, he gave the fans something they’d never seen before at that level.
“We helped him get back to his footballing life again.”
