Christian Eriksen is once again being linked with a move to Wrexham. This time, reports linking the 33-year-old with a move to North Wales seem much more concrete.
Christian Eriksen was previously mentioned as a speculative transfer target for Wrexham this summer. It comes after Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s side earned a historic third-straight promotion, landing themselves in the Championship for next season.
But the link quickly died down, before rumours on Friday were reignited. Daily Mail revealed that Wrexham have made an approach to sign Eriksen, whose agent hasn’t ruled out a potential move to the Racecourse this summer.
It could be the pick of the bunch for Phil Parkinson’s side in the transfer market this summer, with six impressive new names having already signed for the club.
Here are the updated winners and losers if Wrexham sign Eriksen this summer…
The winners if Wrexham sign Christian Eriksen this summer
Lewis O’Brien and George Thomason
Adding such an experienced and quality midfielder to the department would be hugely beneficial to those playing around him. As things stand, it looks like Lewis O’Brien and George Thomason are the two favoured midfielders for Wrexham, likely Ollie Rathbone when he is back from injury.
If Parkinson plays a 5-3-1-1 formation next season, a midfield three of Eriksen, O’Brien, and Thomason could work wonders in the Championship, and playing alongside Eriksen and training alongside him too would be hugely beneficial to O’Brien and Thomason, who’d get a first-hand glimpse at what a top-quality midfield player looks like.
Harry Ashfield
Harry Ashfield is turning heads among Wrexham fans. During the pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand, Ashfield impressed the Wrexham supporters with his performances, particularly in the game against Wellington Phoenix.
Ashfield was arguably the best player on the pitch, and at 19 years old he could follow in the footsteps of names like Max Cleworth, who has come through the academy and become a regular first-team player.
Like with O’Brien and Thomason, Ashfield could benefit hugely from playing alongside Eriksen, and at such a young age too. As an older player, Eriksen could well be a mentor for players like Ashfield, who is in the development stages of their career and who could really be influenced by playing and training alongside a player with Eriksen’s pedigree.
The losers if Wrexham sign Christian Eriksen this summer
The fringe midfielders
Eriksen arriving at the Racecourse would bolster what is already an impressive midfield department. With O’Brien and Thomason joining and potentially Eriksen, it pushes a number of players down the pecking order and potentially out of favour.
We saw in the second half of last season how Parkinson isn’t immune to exiling previously important players like was the case with Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer. Should Eriksen arrive, then we could well see names like Andy Cannon and potentially George Evans fall completely out of favour.
And if Eriksen arrives sooner rather than later, then it could give Parkinson time to trim some of the excess of his midfield department and look for some player sales. Expect Cannon to leave Wrexham either way.
Jamie Vardy
Wrexham are ready to spend big on player wages this summer. There have been reports that the Dragons will spend up to £25,000-per-week on new signings, but Eriksen would no doubt cost much more than that. Eriksen earned a staggering £170,000-per-week at Manchester United.
He’d inevitably have to take a huge pay cut to move to Wrexham. Although, as is the case with many MLS teams, Wrexham could make an exception in terms of wages to sign a star player like Eriksen. If they do so, expect him to be the only one.
And that in turn could see Wrexham pass up the opportunity to sign other potential star marquee players, one such player being Jamie Vardy.
Vardy has been linked with a move to Wrexham throughout the summer. There’s nothing to suggest that he doesn’t remain a target for the Dragons, with Parkinson looking set to sign at least one striker this summer.
But if Wrexham sign Eriksen, then there might be no room left in the wage bill to sign Vardy, who would no doubt command a hefty weekly wage too.