RSC Anderlecht Managing Director of Sport Jesper Fredberg has admitted they wanted to sign Christian Eriksen from Manchester United this summer.
Voetbal Nieuws cover comments from Fredberg today in which he covers their interest in the Manchester United man.
Eriksen had been expected to leave this summer as Manchester United continued to overhaul their squad for Erik ten Hag.
The emergence of Kobbie Mainoo, the signing of Manuel Ugarte and a squad already packed with midfield options had seemingly pushed the Dane down the pecking order and out of the picture.
He ultimately ended up staying, though, with Scott McTominay actually the major midfield departure in a €30.5m move to Napoli.
There were options for Eriksen to move and Anderlecht were one of them, expressing an interest early on in the window but never pushing through with it.
That interest was revived towards the end of the window too, but ultimately the deadline passed and Eriksen remained at Manchester United.
Fredberg has now admitted that they explored the idea, but it ultimately turned out not to be a feasible one for them.
“Dennis (Praet) was a possibility, certainly. But we didn’t want to block players like Yari Verschaeren and Théo Leoni. They have to take the next step,” he said.
“Without underestimating his qualities, this was really a cost/benefit analysis. We brought in Leander Dendoncker on a position where real competition was needed.
“That is why we did not need an extra experienced player in midfield. Although Eriksen was an absolute opportunity, which turned out not to be feasible.
“We have a strong core, in which the established values also have to raise their level. The icing on the cake may be missing. We are recovering some players and do not want to block Neerpede, but due to various circumstances a number of deals have not been successful.
“There is good cooperation in all files, but I was not thrilled after the deadline. Some missed targets, a few frustrations… But all in all, I’m satisfied.”
