Game over for star with 21 appearances this season with shock RETIREMENT call tipped

Manchester United star Christian Eriksen has been told he is “100% done” at Old Trafford with one pundit feeling he will be forced to retire at the season’s end and with the star one of four players who are set to set to walk away – and the staggering wages a year the club will save – all coming to light.

The experienced midfielder has racked up 21 appearances this season and 93 overall for Manchester United since making a free transfer move to Old Trafford during Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge. And while Eriksen has still managed to contribute four goals and four assists this season, he has only started twice for Manchester United since the turn of the year.

With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, we understand that officials at Old Trafford had already decided not to renew his deal, which currently earns the player £150,000 a week. Ruben Amorim has since backed up that decision with the new manager not finding a regular place for the 140-times Denmark legend in his side, whose midfielders need to play high-intensity football to bring the best out of his 3-4-2-1 system.

Eriksen had been expected to secure a move overseas this summer to extend his stellar career into a 19th season – a remarkable achievement given the cardiac arrest he suffered in June 2021 while on the pitch for his country during Euro 2020 and in scenes that will forever be remembered as shocking.

However, rather than seal a move elsewhere, former Everton and Real Madrid midfielder Thomas Gravesen believes he will be forced to call it quits once he leaves Old Trafford.

“It is 100% over for Christian Eriksen at Manchester United this summer, and I also fear that his career is over,” Gravesen said.

“Where is he going to go? Where will he go and earn DKK 60m a year? I have a very hard time seeing that.”

Gravesen likens Eriksen’s situation to that of compatriot Simon Kjaer, who called time on his career after struggling to find a new club following his AC Milan exit last summer.

He continued: “[Kjaer] left Milan and suddenly he was just gone. Half a year passed before he announced what happened.

“Christian Eriksen will turn 33 shortly, and I fear that history will repeat itself.”

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Eriksen one of four set to leave Man Utd for free

Gravesen feels Eriksen has declined in recent years and it would be a waste of his talents were he to carry on at a lower level.

“But now it could be that he could settle for much less? Yes, he has probably earned the money he needs to, but I think that the development that Christian has undergone in the past few years is downward.

“It is sad to see the situation Christian Eriksen is in. He’s one of the players in Denmark who has given us the most. He has shone and been our best man, so it is sad if his career ends like this.”

Despite that, there remains interest in Eriksen’s services from overseas, with clubs in Turkey among those to have taken an interest, while a move to Saudi Arabia, given their liking for big-name players, cannot be entirely ruled out.

Either way, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have no room for sentiment and has been on a mission to remove United’s highest-paid stars from the wage bill ever since he took charge at Old Trafford last year.

In his time at the helm, Raphael Varane (£375,000 a week), Anthony Martial (£250,000) and Jadon Sancho (£220,000) departed in that first summer, while since then Marcus Rashford (£325,000) and Antony (£200,000) have also moved on. Next on his hit list are both Casemiro (£375,000) and Eriksen – bringing the total savings on those seven departures to an eye-watering £1.9m a week – some £98.5m a year.

However, Eriksen is not the only player expected to leave Old Trafford on a free this summer, with Tom Heaton, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans also set to be allowed to walk away at the end of their contracts.

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Meanwhile, United have been told they can secure the services of one of the world’s best goalkeepers for the modest sum of just €25-30m (up to £25m, $31m) this summer – despite having an eye-watering €103m (£85.9m, $106.5m) release clause in his deal.

Jan Oblak is the player in question and the reasons why Atletico Madrid are willing to let the Slovenian leave on the cheap have now come to light, per a report.

Elsewhere, Ratcliffe is reported to have reached a decision on bringing Harry Kane to Old Trafford after the revelation that his release clause drops to just £54m.

With Eriksen and Casemiro due to depart, United will need to bring in midfield reinforcements this summer and we understand that Amorim is showing interest in Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton.

Our transfer correspondent Fraser Fletcher has reported that scouts are planning to keep tabs on the Crystal Palace midfielder in the second half of the season, though they are far from the only club keen.

Fletcher has also given the lowdown on reported United interest in Athletic Bilbao attacking midfielder Oihan Sancet.

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