Brentford were the first Premier League club to make a move on transfer deadline day as Christian Eriksen joined the Bees on a deal until the end of the season, just seven months after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The 29-year-old, who collapsed while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 last summer, was a free agent after leaving Inter Milan by mutual consent as rules in Italy prevented him from playing with a implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device fitted.
The ex-Tottenham midfielder had been training with former club Ajax but has now agreed terms with Brentford having completed his medical assessments.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank, who worked with Eriksen while in charge of Denmark’s Under-17s squad early in his career, welcomed his compatriot to the club.
“We have taken an unbelievable opportunity to bring a world-class player to Brentford,” Frank said. “He hasn’t trained with a team for seven months but has done a lot of work on his own.
“He is fit but we will need to get him match fit and I am looking forward to seeing him work with the players and staff to get back towards his highest level.
“At his best, Christian has the ability to dictate games of football. He can find the right passes and is a goal threat.”
Brentford said Eriksen completed the details of his transfer from Amsterdam and will join up with the club in the coming days.
“I can’t wait to get started and hopefully I’ll seen you all very soon,” Eriksen said in a short video on Brentford’s website.
The club’s director of football Phil Giles said that, though the club would not divulge any of Eriksen’s private medical information, “Brentford fans can rest assured that we have undertaken significant due diligence to ensure that Christian is in the best possible shape”.
Eriksen’s signing is expected to be the start of a busy deadline day in London, with Arsenal looking to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has not selected Aubameyang since December 6 following a second disciplinary issue involving the Gabon international in the past 12 months and it looks to have been the final straw for the Spaniard.
Juventus and Barcelona were said to have gone head-to-head for the forward and it looks likely the LaLiga outfit will win the race.
Tottenham are close to completing the double swoop of Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Winger Kulusevski would be a loan switch while midfielder Bentancur, who has been linked with numerous other Premier League teams, would be a permanent move and may go some way to appeasing boss Antonio Conte, who saw the club miss out on Adama Traore and Luis Diaz over the weekend.
Outgoings will also keep Spurs director of football Fabio Paratici busy, with the club’s record addition Tanguy Ndombele moving back to Lyon on loan while Dele Alli, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil could all potentially join the Frenchman in securing moves away on temporary deals.
Frank Lampard is set to be confirmed as Rafael Benitez’s replacement as Everton boss on Monday, and it is expected Manchester United midfielder Donny Van De Beek will join him at Goodison Park on loan.
