Paul Scholes has heaped praise on Christian Eriksen and labelled him as his favourite player in the current Manchester United set up.
The legendary ex-United midfielder has been a vocal critic of his former side as they have slumped away from title contention. He has reserved harsher judgement for those plying their trade in the middle of the park, particularly Fred and Scott McTominay.
But Scholes thinks the arrival of Eriksen - and fellow summer signing Casemiro - has helped solve one of the biggest issues the Red Devils have been facing. Eriksen was one of six arivals in Erik ten Hag’s first window, and arguably the shrewdest of all - coming to the club as a free agent following his half-season stint with Brentford.
And the Denmark international has quickly put his stamp on the United team, playing a key role in their recent resurgence. His performances have also caught the eye of Scholes, claiming he encompasses everything he likes from players.
Appearing on Gary Neville’s Overlap YouTube channel, Scholes was asked what he looks for in midfielders: “Intelligence…clever players with a brain. [Eriksen] is a perfect example of a player who plays with intelligence. He’s a clever player, he knows where he is on the pitch and knows where others are on the pitch.”
Scholes was particularly pleased to see the impact of Eriksen, after blasting United duo McTominay and Fred just weeks before. Following the defeat to Brighton in August, he took to social media with his verdict on where it was going wrong for the maligned pair.
"Thoughts for the week: it's all about body shape when receiving the ball, too many times facing their own goal and can only play one way...get on the 'half-turn' for f*** sake and bring your forward more talented players into the game' ...Have a great week everyone."
During United’s run of four straight Premier League wins, the ‘McFred’ partnership has been broken up, with Eriksen serving as the pivot next to McTominay, with Casemiro expected to come in before too long. A change Scholes will have definitely been on board with.
"With Fred and McTominay, he [Ten Hag] is going to have to play just one of them [going forward] but even one of them is probably too many,” he said after United lost to the Seagulls.
"Fred gives the ball away all the time and McTominay’s trying to run with the ball constantly and then gives it away. Pass it to your best players! It’s not that difficult. It’s criminal on a day like today."
Reflecting on that outburst, he said to Neville: “Maybe I was a bit harsh on Scott and Fred, but they were just back to goal all the time. Forward players facing their goal, it’s a waste of time. You should be on the half-turn, so I can still see you [the player passing], but I can see my forward as well.
“Playing round the corner, you saw Casemiro do it, Eriksen does it all the time. The goal they scored, Eriksen received it on the half-turn, passed it forward to Fernandes, who was on the half-turn, and they scored. Small things annoy me, but if you’re playing for Manchester United you should be capable of that. You’d expect that wouldn’t you?”
