BAYERN MUNICH HAVE been advised to steer well clear of the transfer battle for Christian Eriksen, with Lothar Matthaus considering the Tottenham playmaker to be “too slow”.
The Bundesliga champions are hardly short on creative talent, given the opportunity for them to sign Philippe Coutinho on a permanent basis from Barcelona next summer.
They also boast World Cup-winning forward Thomas Muller on their books – although questions are being asked of his future at the Allianz Arena.
Eriksen is among those set to come onto the market in 2020, with the Denmark international’s contract running out at Spurs, and he will be able to discuss pre-contract terms from January.
Bayern may be among those tempted to enter into talks, but Matthaus believes they would be wrong to join the chase for a 27-year-old midfielder that Niko Kovac seemingly does not need.
“I have been following the player for a long time, and he has disappointed me so far in 2019,” a legendary figure who took in two spells with Bayern in his playing days told Sport 1.
“A transfer to FC Bayern would not make any sense for me and would be very surprising. For me, he is not a player who helps Bayern.
If he is not enough for Tottenham, he is not good enough for Bayern. Uli Hoeness has also said that Bayern do not need substitutes.”
Matthaus added: “Eriksen is a fine technician, a typical number 10. But he’s too slow, and Niko Kovac likes fast players.
“For me, Eriksen is not the kind of player who makes all the difference at the highest level, so concentrate on the transfer of Kai Havertz next summer, and you still have Philippe Coutinho, who plays well as a 10.
“Do not forget [Thomas] Muller, who can play any position offensively and should not give up, I stick to it: Eriksen makes no sense to me.”
Eriksen has struggled for form at Tottenham this season amid the uncertainty surrounding his future.
He admitted over the summer that he was tempted to take on a new challenge after six years in England.
It is expected that he will get his wish at the end of the current campaign, or potentially in January, with Spurs seemingly planning for life without him as Mauricio Pochettino starts to favour other options.
Ryan Bailey steps into the presenter’s chair where he’s joined by Murray Kinsella and Eoin Toolan on the line from Japan to tee up one of the biggest, if not the biggest week in Irish rugby: a World Cup quarter-final against back-to-back champions New Zealand.
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