Thomas Frank would “love” to keep in-form star Christian Eriksen at Brentford beyond this season and believes he has a realistic chance.
Playmaker Eriksen has been in sparkling form with the Bees – registering three wins from as many starts – but his short-term deal expires in the summer.
The 30-year-old grabbed his first Premier League goal since suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 during last weekend’s thumping 4-1 win at Chelsea.
Former club Tottenham and top-flight rivals Manchester United and Newcastle are among those reported to be interested in tempting him away from west London.
While Brentford boss Frank does not expect an update until the end of the campaign, he retains hope of holding on to his fellow Dane.
“I think I am going to get this question before and after each game until something is decided either way,” he replied when asked about the future of Eriksen.
“The thing is that I don’t think anything will be decided before the end of the season. We are interested for him to stay, massively – I would love that.
“When or when not that is confirmed, that’s where we can say something. I could say we’re speaking every week or we’re not speaking every week but it’s actually irrelevant.
“I think you all understand we would like to keep him and it’s up to Christian to find out what he wants to do.
“I think we have a chance (of keeping him) – 100 per cent.”
Eriksen had an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted after collapsing on the pitch during Denmark’s European Championship match with Finland last summer.
His remarkable return to elite level has included two goal-scoring outings for his country, in addition to claiming Brentford’s second of four strikes against Thomas Tuchel’s European champions.
Frank feels Eriksen has added an extra dimension to his side.
“Of course Christian is giving us that extra quality and ability that every team needs and he deserves massive praise – he’s done fantastic for us,” said the manager.
“I can’t praise him enough. But it’s also important to mention that we actually managed to win some football matches before him.
“I think most important is that we had all our key players fit and available – that’s a key thing.
“And then we just add that extra layer that gave us the opportunity, for example, to go to Chelsea and win.”
Brentford have breathing space in their bid to avoid an immediate return to the Championship following their stunning Stamford Bridge success.
The Bees host West Ham on Sunday sitting nine points above the drop zone.
Frank is eager to avoid complacency in the scrap for survival but revealed he opted to take his daughter to the cinema rather than tune in to watch Burnley beat fellow strugglers Everton 3-2 in midweek.
“I check all results and then we watch a few highlights depending on who it is,” he replied when asked about the match at Turf Moor.
“But I didn’t watch it; I actually went to the cinema with my daughter – I thought that was more important! These days you can always look at the games back.
“It was the new Marvel film, Morbius. It was OK.”
