Aston Villa have Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley for creativity in midfield, but Dean Smith wants more firepower and Corriere dello Sport have claimed (via Sport Witness) that Christian Eriksen is the player he has identified to improve the squad.
The 28-year-old joined Inter Milan from Tottenham last January and has gone on to make 38 appearances in all competitions, scoring a paltry four goals and supplying only three assists.
Once hailed as a “wow footballer” by former Denmark coach Morten Olsen, Eriksen has been short of form (without a goal or assist in his last 12 games) and playing time (just 373 minutes) this season, so he could be on his way out of the San Siro in one of the next two transfer windows.
The Danish international is available on a six-month loan as he is surplus to requirements under Antonio Conte. He started only one of Inter’s six Champions League group games and has started just once in Serie A since the end of October (Transfermarkt).
Eriksen spoke out in a Denmark national team press conference (via The Mirror) in October about the lack of football, but little changed. Not only has he been an unused substitute in six of Inter’s 15 league games, all of Eriksen’s eight Serie A appearances have either come from the bench or resulted in him being substituted (Transfermarkt).
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It remains to be seen whether Villa stand a chance of landing his signature, however, as West Ham, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal have all been linked.
However, Corriere dello Sport said that there has been contact between the Midlands club and Eriksen’s representative, so time will tell whether Villa Park is his next stop.
