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[/quote]Liverpool will this summer look to follow up their purchase of Luis Suarez from Ajax by attempting to lure teenage playmaker Christian Eriksen to Anfield. The promising Danish international has impressed many with his mature performances for the Eredivisie club and many have tipped the youngster to be a big star in the future.
Director of Football Damien Comolli has earmarked a move for the starlet who has been likened to a young Dennis Bergkamp and the Merseyside club hope they can persuade the Amsterdam to sell as the Dutch side look to balance the books and help alleviate their financial woes.
Eriksen arrived at Ajax in 2008 and battled his way through the club’s academy system and into the first team far faster than anyone could possibly have imagined. The former Odense youth team player has already racked up almost 50 senior appearances and already has ten international caps to his name and yet he is still yet to turn 19.
Liverpool will hope that a bid for the £10m rated playmaker will be accepted as Frank De Boer may prefer to lose an up and coming star over the likes of more established names like Gregory van der Wiel, Maarten Stekelenburg and Jan Vertonghen, all strongly linked with moves away from the Amsterdam Arena.
Liverpool’s new owners are keen to see the club invest in young talent with good potential re-sale value and that can help build the nucleus of a new generation of Anfield stars and Eriksen arguably fits that bill to a tee.
Despite being only 10st 3lb and 5ft 7in, his speed, vision and ability to split defences with his passing have seen him compared to the Laudrup brothers , Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart.
'He is a talented young player,' said Olsen. 'He is technically good with a good touch on the ball. It was a little early but, like Sven Goran Eriksson with Theo Walcott, I took him to the World Cup. It was exciting for him and fantastic to see what a World Cup is. It was good for his future and good for the team because he is surely a player who will be very, very important in the next 10 years.
'He had a little dip mentally and physically after the World Cup but he has played the last three or four games under Frank de Boer. You will see him against England but maybe not from the start.
'For the moment he is in the right place at Ajax to develop into a top player. It is too early for him to move to the Premier League and play so many games at that level.
'Not everybody can play so many games wi th the strength the Premier League demands. Maybe in five years you will see him in the Premier League.'
Liverpool's assistant manager, Sammy Lee, attended Denmark's defeat to England in Copenhagen to watch Agger's international team-mate Christian Eriksen. The impressive 18-year-old midfielder is attracting interest from several leading clubs, including Arsenal and Milan, but believes his apprenticeship is best served by staying with Ajax and that he may not suit a move to the Premier League.
"I think I'm going to play in Ajax until my contract expires," said Eriksen. "There are a lot of young players who are busy looking at other clubs but that's not the way I think. There are still lots for me to learn and improve, and I can do that in Ajax, which is one of the best clubs in the world to develop talents.
"Every time Ajax are playing there are clubs watching me. So, yes, Liverpool have probably seen me, but I am not spending time wondering about it. No matter what, the Premier League is not the most obvious place for me to go. I'm not sure that I've got the physical ability to play there. Serie A or La Liga would suit me better, but it [a transfer] is not going to happen now."
Liverpool have stepped up their interest in Christian Eriksen after they sent Sammy Lee to watch the Denmark international on Wednesday.
The Ajax midfielder is one of the hottest properties in Europe and Lee's presence in the crowd for the friendly against England showed Liverpool are firmly in the race for Eriksen's signature.
Eriksen, 18, is under contract with Ajax until 2014 but he is well aware that a number of top Barclays Premier League sides want to sign him.
Martin Jol believes that reported Milan target Christian Eriksen is destined to be one of the best players in the world.
Eriksen’s stock grew even further during Denmark’s friendly defeat to England last week, with many pundits suggesting that he was man-of-the-match.
Such form means that the Rossoneri are not the only club to be interested in the 18-year-old, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United all credited with an interest in the current Ajax star.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Jol – who left his role as Ajax manager recently, revealed that the Dutch giants will not be able to keep hold of their protégée much longer.
“In 18 months he'll be too big for Holland, he is already probably worth the most of any player in the Dutch League,†said the former Tottenham Hotspur boss.
“He is one of the biggest talents Ajax have ever had in the No 10 position, on a level with Jari Litmanen, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart.
“As a No 10 he could be the best in Europe. Left foot, right foot, a trick, a shot, he has everything you need.â€
The player is expected to command a fee of at least €18 million and Jol went on to add: “If I had money like Manchester City, I'd buy him right now and let him stay at Ajax.
“You've got the best talent in Europe and he's yours in a couple of yers.â€