Conte open to reuniting with Eriksen at Tottenham

LONDON, Feb 9 ― Antonio Conte has opened the door to a possible Tottenham return for Christian Eriksen after saying it would be a “good opportunity” to work with the Denmark international again.

Eriksen last week joined fellow Premier League side Brentford on a short-term deal after completing a remarkable recovery following a cardiac arrest during last year’s Euro 2020.

The playmaker was a pivotal member of Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side that finished as runners-up in the Premier League in 2016/17 and reached the Champions League final in 2019.

He left the club in 2020 after being signed by Conte at Inter Milan and the pair won the Serie A title together last season before Eriksen’s cardiac arrest ended his time in Italy prematurely.

Italian league rules meant he was unable to play with the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) he had fitted.

Spurs head coach Conte, who revealed he met Eriksen by coincidence at a hotel they were both staying in at the weekend, said there were no talks about bringing the 29-year-old back to the north London club during the January transfer window but things could be different at the end of the season.

“Honestly I was surprised about the situation because in my mind, I thought Christian needed more time before coming back to play in England,” said the Italian.

“For sure, Eriksen is part of Tottenham’s story. To come back here would be a good opportunity for him, for me, for the club.

“But now he’s signed for Brentford, only six months, and we’ll see what happens.”

Conte said he was “lucky” to meet Eriksen on Sunday.

“I’m the first person to be happy to see him again on the pitch because we spent a really good time at Inter Milan together,” he said.

“We won the league, we spent two important seasons together. I wish him all the best for the future. And you don’t know what will happen. It would be good for me to have him again, to work together.”