Christian Eriksen: Manchester United reach verbal agreement with former Brentford midfielder

Eriksen set to sign three-year contract at Old Trafford

Manchester United have reached an agreement in principle with Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I)

Manchester United have won the race to sign Christian Eriksen after reaching an agreement in principle on a three-year contract.

The Denmark international is a free agent after his short-term deal with Brentford expired and has chosen to join up with Erik ten Hag’s squad for the forthcoming campaign.

Although Brentford had hoped to convince Eriksen to re-sign with them in west London, United are in the process of drafting the 30-year-old’s contract and preparing his medical.

Eriksen has a pre-existing relationship with Ten Hag, having trained with Ajax last season while recovering from the cardiac arrest he suffered while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020.

The former Ajax and Tottenham midfielder was suspended from playing for his previous club Inter due to health regulations, after being fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Eriksen’s Inter contract was terminated and he subsequently joined Brentford, impressing as Thomas Frank’s newly-promoted side stayed clear of relegation trouble in their first-ever Premier League campaign.

Brentford provided United’s main competition for Eriksen, who is now likely to become the second signing of the Ten Hag era.

United are expected to announce a deal for Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia imminently. The 22-year-old was in attendance at Carrington, United’s training ground, on Monday to complete the second part of his medical.

United are set to embark on their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia later this week, with Ten Hag and the first-team squad flying out to Bangkok on Friday.

Negotiations with Barcelona for priority target Frenkie de Jong - who shares an agency with Malacia - remain ongoing, with talks centered around the add-ons to a guaranteed fee of around €65m (£56m).

Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez is also a target for Ten Hag, as United look to head off competition from Arsenal for the 24-year-old’s signature.