How Man Utd could line up with Christian Eriksen

Christian Eriksen has completed his move to Manchester United on a free transfer.

The Danish playmaker left Brentford following the end of his six-month contract in west London, and is heading north to continue his storied Premier League career.

Across his time at Ajax, Tottenham, Inter and Brentford, Eriksen has succeeded in a number of roles and positions. His versatility will benefit Man Utd as much as his undoubted quality.

But where will he fit in under Erik ten Hag? Let's take a closer look...

Can Christian Eriksen play with Bruno Fernandes?

We're sure plenty of Man Utd fans will be wondering this question, and our answer for now is simply - yes. We will look at the specifics of such a proposition later in the article.

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Eriksen in a midfield two

Though an unlikely prospect, Eriksen could be deployed in a two-man midfield.

He's not naturally this sort of player, but if Ten Hag opts to play a back three, then it would give the Dane the freedom to strut his stuff without having to worry too much about his defensive contribution.

That said, he would need to play alongside a midfielder with fresher legs for it to really work.

Potential lineups:

Eriksen (CM) - Fred (CM)

Eriksen (CM) - McTominay (CM)

Eriksen in a midfield three

Eriksen spent most of his time at Brentford on the left of a midfield three, drifting into the half spaces and causing havoc with his pinpoint crossing.

While he had great success placing the ball onto Ivan Toney's head, imagine the damage he could do with Cristiano Ronaldo in the same positions (assuming he stays, of course).

A formation with three midfielders would also be the easiest way to fit Eriksen and Fernandes in the same team as they could both operate as number eights. However, it would likely require a box-to-box midfielder to play as the number six instead, which isn't ideal even if they were to complete the signing of Frenkie de Jong.

Potential lineups:

McTominay (DM) - Eriksen (CM) - Fernandes (CM)

McTominay (DM) - Eriksen (CM) - Van de Beek (CM)

Fred (DM) - Eriksen - Fernandes (CM)

Fred (DM) - Eriksen - Van de Beek (CM)

Eriksen as a number 10

While he hasn't played there for too much of his recent career, Eriksen is naturally a number 10.

The problem he will encounter at Man Utd is that Fernandes is essentially undroppable and he would probably only see consistent minutes here in cup competitions and if the Portugal playmaker were to miss games through injury or suspension.

Nonetheless, it's a viable option and Fernandes is capable of playing out wide.

Potential lineups:

Sancho (RM) - Eriksen (AM) - Rashford (LM)

Sancho (RM) - Eriksen (AM) - Martial (LM)

Sancho (RM) - Eriksen (AM) - Fernandes (LM)

Elanga (RM) - Eriksen (AM) - Sancho (LM)

Elanga (RM) - Eriksen (AM) - Rashford (LM)

Elanga (RM) - Eriksen (AM) - Martial (LM)

Elanga (RM) - Eriksen (AM) - Fernandes (LM)

Eriksen out wide

But speaking of attacking midfielders capable of playing on the flank, Eriksen's best periods at Tottenham came when he was playing on the right or left as opposed to through the middle.

Admittedly he's lost a yard of pace since then (not that he had too much to begin with), but if Man Utd are going to become a possession-dominant team then that shouldn't matter too much.

Potential lineups:

Eriksen (RM) - Fernandes (AM) - Sancho (LM)

Eriksen (RM) - Fernandes (AM) - Rashford (LM)

Eriksen (RM) - Fernandes (AM) - Martial (LM)

Sancho (RM) - Fernandes (AM) - Eriksen (LM)

Elanga (RM) - Fernandes (AM) - Eriksen (LM)

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