'Eriksen will force the squad to improve'

Eriksen became our second signing under new manager Erik ten Hag on Friday, following the transfer of Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord at the beginning of July.

The playmaker spent the latter half of last season at Brentford, where he impressed with one goal and four assists in 11 appearances; a feat made all the more heroic after he recovered from a cardiac arrest during last year’s European Championships.

Brown couldn’t hide his excitement on the UTD Podcast, where he waxed lyrical about the 30-year-old who has enjoyed successful spells at Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan during a momentous career.

“I absolutely love that signing,” gleamed Brown. “What a fantastic player. A quality player. He’s also done it in the Premier League. I’m so happy that one’s gone through and he’s going to be a big part of this squad now.” 

Brown even excitedly imagined the moment Eriksen hits one of his famous long shots for the Reds: “What I’m looking forward to is the commentators going, ‘Erikssssssssen!’ [laughs]”

The Dane’s presence adds to the number of versatile options available to Ten Hag throughout midfield and attack. Capable of operating as a number 10 or deeper in midfield, Eriksen’s authority in possession allows him to dictate the pace of play wherever he is deployed.

“When he went to Brentford, I’m telling you now he changed their team,” noted Brown. “He brought that extra little bit of quality, whether it was delivering into the box or could see a pass. He can keep the ball and he’s not scared of the ball as well. He came back into the Premier League and has done really well.” 

Brown also highlighted the importance of Ten Hag adding a versatile player with Eriksen’s experience to the squad after the recent departures of Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic and Edinson Cavani. 

“He’s got the experience [to play in attacking midfield or deeper],” he said. “We all know he plays a little bit higher, where Bruno [Fernandes] plays, but ultimately we don’t know what the manager’s thinking yet. Can he play somewhere else? The point is we have that rotation now.

“He makes the squad feel better and he makes everyone step up their game,” continued Brown. “When you get good players in you have to step your own game up if you want to play. Eriksen is the player that has the quality to make others do that.”

“He’s very experienced and when we’ve seen him play, even his first spell in the Premier League with Tottenham, he was excellent.” 

Every pre-season game - including Crystal Palace (11:10 BST Tuesday 19 July) - will be shown live in our app and on ManUtd.com.