Sixth Dane at the club
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Christian Eriksen has found a new club. On Wednesday, Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg announced that they have signed the 33-year-old free agent until 2027. The Danish national team player has been without a club since his contract at Manchester United expired at the end of the last season. With a market value of €4 million, Eriksen was among the most valuable free agents still available after the transfer window closed in Europe’s major leagues.
“We’re really pleased that this opportunity has arisen for us at short notice,” Wolfsburg sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz said. “In Christian Eriksen, we’re getting a player who has seen and experienced everything at the highest level. His enormous experience, his quality on the pitch, and his personality will be a valuable boost to our young players in particular. We’ve deliberately made structural changes this summer and signed several talented youngsters with great potential. Christian will complement our experienced captain, Max Arnold, perfectly. He’s a true leader who can make a difference on and off the pitch.”
Eriksen added: “VfL Wolfsburg is my first club in the Bundesliga – I’m really looking forward to this new adventure,” said Eriksen. “I’m convinced we can achieve something together at Wolfsburg. The talks with the club bosses went very well. I immediately sensed that Paul Simonis has a clear vision for the team and for me personally. The fact that there are several familiar faces in the squad from the Danish national team makes VfL a particularly attractive proposition for me.”
New signing Eriksen: Wolfsburg’s Danish colony keeps growing
The 33-year-old maintained his fitness at Malmö FF in Sweden after his contract expired at Man United at the end of June. After already playing in Italy’s Serie A and the Premier League, the Bundesliga becomes the third of the five top leagues in which Eriksen has been active. The Danish national team record player (144 games) becomes the latest addition from the Scandinavian country. Eriksen becomes the 17th Danish player in Wolfsburg’s club history. The current squad includes six players from Denmark. Not a big surprise given the fact that the club’s transfer policy is overseen by the managing director and former FC Copenhagen boss Peter Christiansen.
Eriksen spent the majority of his career at Tottenham Hotspur (305 games), followed by Ajax (163 games), and Man United (107). In 2019, Eriksen reached a market value of €100m. Since 2021, Eriksen has been playing with a defibrillator, which became necessary after he suffered a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s 1-0 Euro 2020 group stage defeat against Finland. As a result, Eriksen isn’t allowed to continue his career in a few countries, including Italy. In Germany, playing with a defibrillator is permitted. Daley Blind played with one while he was active at Bayern Munich.