Christian Eriksen makes football return after signing deadline day deal with Brentford

Eriksen has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest in Denmark's opening match of Euro 2020

Christian Eriksen signed for Premier League club Brentford on transfer deadline day. AFP
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Brentford have signed Denmark international midfielder Christian Eriksen as a free agent, the Premier League club said on Monday.

Eriksen has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest in Denmark's opening match of the European Championship against Finland in June and has been training with former side Ajax to build up his fitness.

The 29-year-old left Inter Milan by mutual consent as rules in Italy prevented him from playing with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device fitted.

The former Tottenham midfielder was given the green light by doctors last month to resume his playing career. He has agreed terms on a six-month deal with the option to extend the contract for a further year with Brentford having completed his medical assessments before the transfer window closes on Monday evening.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank, who worked with Eriksen while in charge of Denmark’s Under 17s 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.”

Eriksen, whose 51 goals during his seven years at Spurs make him the highest scoring Dane in Premier League history, said he "can’t wait to get started and hopefully I’ll seen you all very soon” in a short video on Brentford’s website.

Eriksen, capped 109 times by Denmark, said this month that he intended to return to football to play for Denmark at the World Cup.

40 January transfer deals

Updated: January 31, 2022, 8:58 AM