It’s not every day that Wrexham could say they have managed to pull off a transfer Jurgen Klopp couldn’t get over the line, but things have changed quite dramatically in the North East of Wales.
In the last four years, Wrexham have shot up the EFL ladder and are now looking forward to playing in the Championship next season.
Thanks to their historic back-to-back-to-back promotions, the Red Dragons are now attracting a very different kind of transfer target.
Or at least, if you believe the rumour mill they are, with a number of high-profile, Premier League level talents now being linked with joining the Wrexham revolution.
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What Jurgen Klopp said about Christian Eriksen
One such target is Christian Eriksen. The Denmark star has come to the end of his Manchester United contract and is available on a free transfer now, and it is thought Wrexham may be interested in Eriksen.
It’s a long shot, but if they can get a deal done, they’d have managed to do something that Liverpool icon Jurgen Klopp failed to do when he was in charge of Borussia Dortmund.
Speaking to Danish outlet Ekstrabladet back in 2017, Klopp said: “Christian Eriksen is a great player. Everyone would love to have him on their team.
“At that time we had three players we went after: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Kevin De Bruyne, and Christian Eriksen. We scouted all three very intensely, but we knew we could only get one.
“We were happy to get Mkhitaryan. Since then, Christian Eriksen has taken a great step at Tottenham. He’s very strong.”
Obviously, Eriksen eventually left Ajax for Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 and went on to make 305 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 69 goals and adding 88 assists.
He made a huge impact at Spurs, so much so that Mauricio Pochettino lavished praise on Eriksen for the example he set for younger players at the club.
Christian Eriksen is now officially free to move, will Wrexham get him?
Based on Eriksen’s comments about his future, it seems the 33-year-old is keen to leave England and try a new challenge elsewhere. But, he didn’t entirely rule out sticking around in the UK.
Obviously, Eriksen would be a huge asset for Wrexham. He can play out wide or in the middle and offers immense creativity and playmaking attributes.
The big problem for Wrexham will be Eriksen’s wage demands. He’s been paid handsomely throughout his career, really, and that’s unlikely to change unless he really buys into the Wrexham project.
Eriksen was on around £150,000 per week at Man Utd, and even a significant drop in that salary would still be way above Wrexham’s pay grade.