LONDON: Antonio Conte has opened the door to a possible Tottenham return for Christian Eriksen after saying it would be a “good opportunity” to work with the Denmark international again.
Eriksen last week joined fellow Premier League side Brentford on a short-term deal after completing a remarkable recovery following a cardiac arrest during last year’s Euro 2020.
The playmaker was a pivotal member of Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side that finished as runners-up in the Premier League in 2016/17 and reached the Champions League final in 2019.
He left the club in 2020 after being signed by Conte at Inter Milan and the pair won the Serie A title together last season before Eriksen’s cardiac arrest ended his time in Italy prematurely.
Italian league rules meant he was unable to play with the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) he had fitted.
Spurs head coach Conte, who revealed he met Eriksen by coincidence at a hotel they were both staying in at the weekend, said there were no talks about bringing the 29-year-old back to the north London club during the January transfer window but things could be different at the end of the season.
“Honestly I was surprised about the situation because in my mind, I thought Christian needed more time before coming back to play in England,” said the Italian.
“For sure, Eriksen is part of Tottenham’s story. To come back here would be a good opportunity for him, for me, for the club.
“But now he’s signed for Brentford, only six months, and we’ll see what happens.”
Conte said he was “lucky” to meet Eriksen on Sunday.
“I’m the first person to be happy to see him again on the pitch because we spent a really good time at Inter Milan together,” he said.
“We won the league, we spent two important seasons together. I wish him all the best for the future. And you don’t know what will happen. It would be good for me to have him again, to work together.”
Conte open to reuniting with Eriksen at Tottenham
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Conte open to reuniting with Eriksen at Tottenham
- Eriksen last week joined fellow Premier League side Brentford on a short-term deal
- "To come back here would be a good opportunity for him, for me, for the club,” said Conte
Carrick relishing Frank reunion as Man Utd host Spurs
- Carrick has enjoyed a perfect start to life as interim United boss
- Frank remains under intense pressure in his first season at Spurs
LONDON: Michael Carrick will go head to head with Thomas Frank just months after interviewing the Tottenham manager for television as Manchester United seek a fourth successive Premier League win on Saturday.
Former Spurs, United and England midfielder Carrick has enjoyed a perfect start to life as interim United boss — beating Manchester City, Premier League leaders Arsenal and Fulham.
Next in line for United are Spurs, 14th in the table after a miserable Premier League season so far.
Carrick, who replaced the sacked Ruben Amorim last month, interviewed Frank ahead of the Dane’s first Champions League game in charge of Tottenham.
“(Life) certainly can change,” said Carrick as he reflected on the Amazon Prime interview in September. “I really enjoyed it, actually.
“We got on really well. It’s the first time I’ve met him properly and we had a good chat just about general kind of football things... I enjoyed it, so it will be good to see him again.”
Former Brentford boss Frank remains under intense pressure in his first season at Spurs despite their impressive Champions League campaign and a recent uptick in results.
Last week’s 2-2 draw at home to City extended their unbeaten run to four matches.
“They certainly bring a challenge,” Carrick said. “I think you can see especially the way they finished the game the other day.
“They’ve had players injured and ins and outs, and a lot of changes to the team, which makes things a lot more challenging, a lot more difficult from their perspective. But they’re getting players back.”
Tottenham won all four of their meetings against United last season, including May’s Europa League final in Bilbao.
Carrick hopes to end that run against a club at which he spent two seasons before moving to Old Trafford in 2006.
“Coming here (United) was a jump and a big jump at the time,” he said. I certainly felt that pretty quickly and then I think once you step inside this place as a footballer, it turns you.
“So, pretty much from the first day walking into the dressing room and meeting the manager, from then on in that was me.”
