As Scudetto chasing Inter and 2019 Champions League finalist Tottenham Hotspur haggle over their differing valuations of Christian Eriksen, Nerazzurri fans must be fearing that they could miss out on a player with the ability to transform the club’s fortunes.
With the 27-year-old keen on a move to Milan and reportedly having agreed personal terms, the Premier League side are demanding double the €10 million that Inter have so far offered to entice the Londoners to cash in on a player who can leave for nothing in June.
The two sides’ differences have opened the door for Paris Saint-Germain to enter the frame, and the Italians now appear to have competition for the Dane’s services.
However, with the Italian giants within touching distance of Juventus at the top of the Serie A table and looking as though they are struggling to maintain their momentum, the Danish international’s arrival could serve to their challenge.
Since breaking into the Ajax first team in his teens, Eriksen has showcased all the skills of a footballer that arrives only a few times in a generation, which was seen as April 2012 in a six-goal demolition of Heracles, wherein he delivered a jaw-dropping display.
Despite just entering his twenties, he was more than the Dutch side’s hottest prospect. The attacking schemer was already the fulcrum of the team as he completed his first full season in the starting line-up, with almost every pass directed his way.
Midway through a hat-trick of Eredivisie titles with the Amsterdam side, a trophy-laden career at the top of European football lie in wait. However, while the Dane grew into one of the brightest talents on the continent with Spurs, his medal collection did not.
That could all be set to change in Italy should Eriksen play a key role in returning the Nerazzurri to the heights they have not hit in nearly a decade. With the increasingly appealing project under coach Antonio Conte no doubt a significant part of his willingness to join.
With Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku forging a striking partnership not seen since their last major trophy in 2011, the Interisti must be salivating at the prospect of seeing the Spurs ace release the pair away from defence after defence. Not to mention the threat he brings from set-pieces.
Rather than roll back the years in a literal sense, as AC Milan have done with the return of ageing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, thoughts turn to fellow Ajax graduate Wesley Sneijder’s arrival at Inter back in 2009.
At a similar age and lack of trophies to match his talent – a league title with both Ajax and Real Madrid and two Dutch Cup successes – the Dutchman was arguably the final piece in the puzzle that delivered a historic treble to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
However, whereas that achievement signalled the beginning of the end for that group of players, this Nerazzurri side are on the up and look determined to bring some glory back to Milan.
Admittedly Eriksen has been subpar this term in London, but his determination to seek a new challenge has played a huge part in his drop in form.
Revitalised by a change of scenery, new challenge and rested after being somewhat frozen out of the first-team, he could well have added to his medal collection by the end of the campaign.
