Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte admits he had no choice but to hand January transfer window signing Christian Eriksen an earlier than expected debut.
Just over 24 hours after putting pen to paper with the Italian giants, the club’s new number 24 was summoned from the bench during a 2-1 Coppa Italia victory against Fiorentina.
Eriksen, who left Tottenham after seven years in a £16.8 million deal, was on the pitch as Inter notched a winner 42 seconds after he had entered the field.
It wasn’t a pre-planned introduction to life at the San Siro, though, with Conte later stating that he was left with no other choice but to call upon the 27-year-old.
Conte told Rai Sport: “We did not intend to use [Christian] Eriksen so soon, as he only started training with us on Tuesday, but Matias Vecino and Nicolo Barella were the only available midfielders.
“Eriksen has character and raises the quality level of the squad. I hope to get more players back, because we really are limited in the middle.
“We tried a system with a trequarista to deal with the absence of Stefano Sensi and Marcelo Brozovic.
“Eriksen can play in a few different roles, and we’ll see – it could be an option, but we need to work on it a lot more.
“We were rather forced into using the three strikers together, because I found out about the problems in midfield.”
In one of the most high-profile deals of the January transfer window, Eriksen – who has been capped 95 times by Denmark – traded London for Milan as he signed a four and a half year deal with Inter.
And he was instantly welcomed into the action by his new club, replacing Manchester United loanee Alexis Sanchez with 24 minutes remaining – with Barella then scoring the decisive goal.
On the prospect of working alongside Eriksen, goalscorer Barella added: “My adventure at Inter is going very well, everyone has faith in me and we are doing something important.
“Eriksen is world class and will raise the quality level of the whole squad. I hope he can make San Siro burst with joy.”
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