‘Am I still a Manchester United player?- Ten Hag signing not certain he will continue at the club

‘Am I still a Manchester United player?- Ten Hag signing not certain he will continue at the club

Music was blaring on the Manchester United team coach as it pulled away from Wembley and at the after-party. There was no chance of Christian Eriksen belting out a celebratory song after the FA Cup final, though.

“No, I will set someone else up to sing,” he laughs. “I’ll get my Danish friend (Rasmus Hojlund) to sing. It’s easy to get him up to sing. It was a good night, it was good fun.”

Eriksen strode out of Wembley with his match shirt still on. Unlike in the previous year’s FA Cup final, he did not get on the pitch.

The 32-year-old is out of contract at United next year and this will likely be his third and final season at the club. Eriksen only started 14 games last term, having lined up 37 times in his first campaign under Erik ten Hag.

That ensured Eriksen was fresh for European Championship duty. He scored one of Denmark’s two goals in Germany against Slovenia and excelled back in the No.10 role.

With United keen to bolster their midfield, there are pennies teetering on the edge. Eriksen could stay beyond the closure of the transfer window as there are few takers for a playmaker who will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement in January.

Eriksen underpinned United’s improvement in Ten Hag’s first season but his alliance with Casemiro was a one-season wonder. Another issue is Eriksen seems to be the most incompatible partner for Kobbie Mainoo

He expects to see out his final year in Manchester and perhaps a game-changing role awaits. Eriksen’s most influential performances last season were off the bench in wins against Copenhagen and Liverpool. “You want to play as much as possible,” he stresses. “Obviously there is a time and a place and I am not getting younger but it doesn’t feel like I’m not getting younger.

“Mentally, I am still the same but body-wise in terms of games and how we play, sometimes it is good to have a rest. But I think it’s the same for everyone. To be able to perform to 100 per cent you do sometimes need a rest. There was a lot of games with the Premier League and European games.