Tottenham Hotspur signed the Ajax midfielder in August 2013 after a long pursuit and ahead of a number of top European clubs and Liverpool.
The Dane had been playing first team football since he was 18 at the Amsterdam club, after joining them from Odense in Denmark as a 16 year old for 1 million Euros. His talent as a youth player stood him out from the crowd and his move to Odense from his home-town club of Middlefart elevated him to a stage where he excelled in youth tournaments, catching the eye of a number of bigger clubs.
Christian went on trial with Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea, AC Milan and Real Madrid, but he was thoughtful about his next move, plumping for Ajax, as he believed it would be best for his development.
It took just 16 months for him to step up to make his first team debut for Ajax and he had then manager (and former Spurs boss) Martin Jol likening him to former Ajax players Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Michael Laudrup. His initial two and a half year deal was extended until the summer of 2014 and in 2010-11, Eriksen took over in midfield as a creator and impressed so much that he won the Danish Talent of the Year award in December 2010 and the Dutch equivalent in May 2011.
His importance to the team was evident with his ability to create chances (135 in 2012-13 alone) with his perceptive passing and ability to commit opponents when running with the ball, as well as chipping in with goals to complement those he made. His contribution to winning three Dutch titles in succession was vital to the club, but with a year remaining on his contract, Eriksen decided that it was time to leave the Amsterdam Arena and he was allowed to talk to clubs in the summer of 2013.
Being a strong-minded individual, Christian shunned interest from a number of clubs to move to Tottenham to progress his career, drawing in a fee of £11.5 million for Ajax.
Although Christian can play in a variety of positions, it is his ability to provide the 'fantasy' in his position of the “number 10” in the team was a key in Spurs signing the Danish international and his arrival was regarded as a real coup for the club.
A first season hit by injury saw Christian come good towards the end of the campaign, but he really started to shine under Mauricio Pochettino in the 2014-15 season, scoring late goals and creating opportunities to become a major player in the side.