LOS ANGELES, California — Christian Eriksen has said he hopes Manchester United's summer tour of the United States will provide good preparation for the new season after suggesting a difficult trip 12 months ago contributed to their poor campaign.
The 2023 tour consisted of stops in New Jersey, San Diego, Houston and Las Vegas. This time around, the club has opted for a training camp at UCLA in California and just three games in Los Angeles, San Diego and South Carolina.
“It's different being at the base and traveling less to the games,” Eriksen said.
“It's also a sponsorship trip as well as a physical activity, and football was delayed a bit last season. I think this year, football has taken a step forward and the focus is on that.”
United's players will spend the majority of this summer's tour in Los Angeles with a 10-day camp organised on the UCLA campus.
That's in contrast to last year, when the team trained in New Jersey and San Diego and flew in for games in Houston and Las Vegas.
“There were a lot of flights in between, there were a lot of short trips of one or two days in this city and then on to the next,” Eriksen said.
“It felt like a lot was happening in a very short period of time. There's going to be a lot going on, too, but it already feels different. If we talk next year or in two weeks, maybe I can say it was better or worse, but it feels better.”
Eriksen has one year left on his contract at United and, despite doubts surrounding his future at Old Trafford, he has insisted he wants to stay at Old Trafford.
He impressed for Denmark at Euro 2024 and, after playing a reduced role in Erik ten Hag's side last season, the 32-year-old admitted he wants to play more games.
“I have one more year left on my contract, so for me I am a United player,” he said. “They haven't told me to leave or renew, so in that sense I have one more year left on my contract and I feel good, my family feels good living in Manchester and United is a good club.”
“When it comes to football, you want to play as much as possible, but you also think about how I see myself, how I fit into the team and in that sense I feel good, I think I'm in a good place.”
