Tottenham's new fans’ favourite Christian Eriksen has revealed he turned down Manchester City.
And the Dane insists he holds no regrets over snubbing City because he’s not interested in sitting on the bench.
Eriksen could have been involved in today’s Manchester derby if he had accepted City’s approach last year.
But, instead, he waited another 12 months to make his move here and will start for Tottenham at Cardiff.
Eriksen hit the wanted list of the Premier League’s top clubs , thanks to a sparkling display for Denmark against England in 2011.
But the 21-year-old felt the time was right to make his big £11.5million switch from Ajax only this summer.
Eriksen said: “It took me a while to get to England because I said no a few times. Last summer, City really wanted to sign me, but it didn’t feel right.
“Maybe I wouldn’t have played there – I wouldn’t go to a club just to stay on the subs’ bench. I didn’t feel ready for a league like the Premier League, and now it looks like I moved at the right time.
“A lot of players moved from Ajax in the last year and it gave me responsibility and made me grow. It made me better. It was exciting there, but you have to wait for the right club to come along.”
City’s loss looks like Tottenham’s gain, as Eriksen has made a stunning start to his White Hart Lane career.
Eriksen followed up a man-of-the-match performance in his debut against Norwich with a superb goal in the Europa League victory over Tromso. And Spurs fans, brought up on stars such as Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne and David Ginola, have already hailed a new hero in Eriksen.
He added: “I’ve read about the history of Tottenham and I have watched games over the years, so I know about the club and how they like creativity.
“I score more goals like the one against Tromso in training and, hopefully, there will be more to come in the games. In terms of who I looked up to, I was a big fan of Francesco Totti.
“Firstly, because I played a lot of Football Manager, which I’m good at, but also in real life. Later on, I looked up to Michael Laudrup, the coach of Swansea. He was probably the one I loved the most, actually.”
Boss Andre Villas-Boas believes Eriksen is wise beyond his years.
AVB said: “For such a young player, he is extraordinary. We all know adapting to the Premier League is difficult, but he has already proved we have a mature player who can adapt very, very quickly.”
Having only joined Spurs at the end of the summer transfer window, Eriksen has yet to find a London home.
He said: “I’m still living in a hotel. The way I have started, maybe I should stay there! But when I find a home, I’ll really settle and take it easy. My girlfriend will come and live with me, once she has done some exams.”
Eriksen won three Eredivisie titles with Ajax and wants to add more silverware to his collection.
He said: “I’m here to try and win the title, but the most important thing is to make the Champions League.”
Gimme a high five, says AVB
Andre Villas-Boas is demanding Spurs win ALL of the next five games.
AVB and Co travel to Cardiff today before facing Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup, Chelsea, Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League and West Ham.
Spurs’ boss said: “We want to win all our games before the international break. A good run would be great.”
Fraizer spurred on by City scalp
Fraizer Campbell believes Cardiff can pull off a repeat of their shock win over Manchester City.
Campbell bagged a fine double when newly-promoted Bluebirds beat City 3-2 last month.
He said: “We’ve beaten one of the top teams and we can do it again. As long as we believe in ourselves we’ll be fine.”