Wolfsburg’s Eriksen was close to joining Dortmund | OneFootball

He has not yet played a single minute for VfL Wolfsburg. But the excitement for Christian Eriksen in the Autostadt is huge. With the signing of the 33-year-old Dane, Lower Saxony has pulled off a real transfer coup, as the midfield maestro joined the Mittelland Canal club on a free transfer.

After his time at Manchester United came to an end, Eriksen was looking for a new club. In the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen are said to have courted Denmark’s record international (144 caps). Apparently, there were also offers from the USA, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

“Many clubs were after him. His decision is a statement for the Bundesliga and VfL Wolfsburg,” rejoiced Wolfsburg’s sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz (46) after signing Eriksen, who signed a contract until 2027.

It was a close call, and the playmaker almost ended up at Borussia Dortmund. In 2013, Eriksen was considered a potential successor to Mario Götze (now 33), who joined FC Bayern Munich that year. The Dane was pulling the strings in Ajax Amsterdam’s midfield, having won the Eredivisie title three times in a row.

For the Dutch record champions, Eriksen played a total of 163 matches, scoring 32 goals and providing an impressive 65 assists. BVB took notice of the then 21-year-old free-kick specialist. Former Ajax coach Frank de Boer (now 55) confirmed an “official inquiry,” reports the Westfälische Anzeiger. De Boer put the probability of a move to Dortmund at 80 percent.

Eriksen, Mkhitaryan or de Bruyne

“Dortmund would be a club I’d like to play for. I think I would fit in well there,” Eriksen openly told Dutch TV channel NOS in May 2013. A transfer fee of around 15 million euros was reportedly discussed. The following month, BVB sporting director Michael Zorc (now 63) put the brakes on and denied any agreement. That year, Eriksen moved to Tottenham Hotspur for around 14 million euros.

Jürgen Klopp later confirmed Borussia’s interest in the Dane, calling him a “great player.” But: “We had to choose between him, Mkhitaryan, and Kevin de Bruyne. We scouted all three very intensively, but we knew we could only get one.”

The choice fell on Mkhitaryan – not a bad one, as we know today.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.