Christian Eriksen admitted that he never thought he would play for another Premier League club in his career after he left Tottenham.
Eriksen made an instant impression when he made the switch to White Hart Lane from Ajax in 2012 but the Lilywhites struggled to click as a side in his first couple of seasons in North London.
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That changed when Mauricio Pochettino arrived in 2014, with the Dane being an important part of the Argentine’s revolution at the club, which saw Tottenham challenge for a couple of Premier League titles and finish runners-up in the Champions League.
Eriksen admitted that the intensity of the game in England came as a shock to him when he made the switch to Spurs.
He also opened up about the experiences of working with Pochettino for five and a half years.
Ahead of Manchester United’s trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the midfielder told the Red Devils’ official website: “I don’t know if I was a bargain. It was different. Just like going into a ping-pong machine, like a basketball game, continuously up and down.
“The intensity. Technically, I wasn’t surprised. I train and see players’ quality be the same as in Holland, technically. But you go into a game and wow, the intensity is completely different.
“If you lose the ball, it ends up there. If you lose it there, it ends up there. One rhythm, just up and down. It was a bit of a shock to get used to in the beginning.
“Under Andre Villa-Boas, I was in and out of the team at the time. I think also the club and the team was on and off.
“Against the top six, we lost a lot of games but, apart from that, we did okay. Then he left and Tim Sherwood took over at the end of that season and then Poch [Mauricio Pochettino] came in.
“I think, obviously, I had Poch for a lot longer than the other managers and I think what we did and what we created with him, the team we had was incredible.
“So, learning-wise, I did learn from Poch. You’d have the ball less in training than before but have the ball a lot more in the games.
“With him, there was a lot of tough training, a lot of running, which is important for the physical part. We were a young side so, for us, it was the perfect mix and, just in the game, to play free.”
Although Eriksen was mooted as a target for the likes of United during his time at Tottenham, the midfielder insisted that he never considered playing for another Premier League club at the time.
“I think I really enjoyed my time there. We did have a very, very good team. And, every time, I’d be like no, I’m not going to leave for another team in the Premier League.
“I felt good at Spurs. You could see the opportunities for the future. Yeah, speaking [about it] is one thing but going for it is something else.
“I couldn’t see myself [elsewhere in England] so it was also why, when I left Spurs, I didn’t have the mindset of staying in the Premier League, when I wanted to leave.
“I didn’t plan on coming back but then, two years later, I was back and you never know what is going to happen in football.”
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I was glad to see that Spurs fans did not boo when Eriksen’s name was read out at the stadium on Thursday.
The 31-year-old was a good servant to the club and left amicably, making no secret of his desire to experience a different footballing culture.
Even if he goes on to win a couple of more trophies at Man Utd, I suspect he will always look back more fondly at his time in North London when he hands up his boots.
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