‘Useless’ Man Utd star ‘won’t be a miss’ for Ten Hag while Prem giants are playing ‘poorly’
According to ex-Manchester United defender Paul Parker, Christian Eriksen will not “be a miss” for the Premier League giants while he is out injured.
Eriksen was one of the players Erik ten Hag recruited ahead of his first season in charge at Man Utd in 2022/23. He joined the Premier League outfit on a free transfer following his brief spell at Brentford.
The Denmark international impressed for the Red Devils last season as he was involved in nine goals in his 28 Premier League appearances.
The 31-year-old has been in and out of the team at the start of this season and he is now set for a spell on the sidelines.
Eriksen has been forced to withdraw from the Denmark squad as a result of a knee injury after he was taken off during United’s 1-0 win over Luton Town at the weekend.
The midfielder is set to be out for around a month, while Rasmus Hojlund – who was also forced off against Luton – will be unavailable for a couple of weeks.
Parker has explained why he does not think Eriksen will be “missed” while he is out of action.
“Christian Eriksen has still been in and out of the team this season, so he won’t be a miss for Manchester United, at least not compared to what he would have been last season when he was a key player,” Parker told Tipsbladet.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but it’s about the team being poor, and Eriksen needs a balanced team before he performs well.
“What happens when the team plays poorly is that Eriksen can’t leverage his strengths because he excels when his own team has the ball, and right now, Man United doesn’t want to have the ball. When that happens, he becomes useless.”
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Hojlund meanwhile has been one of United’s better performances this term and Parker reckons he will be a “big loss”.
“He hasn’t scored in the Premier League yet, but his presence means a lot, and he puts tremendous pressure on his opponents, something the other attackers can’t do,” Parker added.
“I believe it will be Anthony Martial who gets the chance up top, and he is a completely indifferent player who neither can nor wants to contribute anything.
“Martial would rather sit at home in front of the fireplace with a pair of slippers on and relax, so it’s clear that losing Højlund will be a big loss.”
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