Christian Eriksen Inter 2020-2021Getty Images

'Eriksen is a high-level player' - Inter midfielder thriving in new role at San Siro, says assistant coach Stellini

Christian Eriksen is thriving in his new role at San Siro according to Inter assistant coach Cristian Stellini, who has described the midfielder as a "high-level player".

Inter forked out €20 million (£18m/$24m) to bring Eriksen onto their books from Tottenham in January 2020.

The Denmark international built up a reputation as one of the most effective playmakers in Europe during his seven-year stay in the Premier League, but struggled to live up to the same high standards at the start of his career in Italy.

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Eriksen quickly fell out of favour under Antonio Conte at San Siro amid struggles for form and fitness, leading to speculation over his future.

The 28-year-old was being heavily linked with Paris Saint-Germain before the opening of the winter transfer window, with Nerazzurri CEO Giuseppe Marotta confirming that the club were ready to listen to offers for the ex-Spurs star.

However, Eriksen has since worked his way back into Conte's set-up with a stellar performance in the 2-1 Coppa Italia round of 16 win over Fiorentina on January 16 serving as a reminder of his talents.

He ended up being the match-winner in Inter's victory by the same scoreline over arch-rivals Milan in the quarter-finals, firing home a stunning free-kick in the final seconds of stoppage time.

The Dane's latest stellar display came in the 4-0 thrashing of Benevento in Serie A on Saturday, after which he was singled out for special praise by Conte's No 2 Stellini.

"Eriksen? I liked him a lot tonight; the whole team, but especially him," the Nerazzurri coach told DAZN. "He is adapting to this role, now he is having the opportunities to show himself in this new task, but we have been trying it for some time.

"We expect this from him, we expect him to improve continuously from game to game. He did a great job, he is an asset we have worked on a lot, a high-level player."

Stellini went on to address rumours of a potential transfer away from San Siro for Alexis Sanchez, who was restricted to a 16-minute cameo from the bench against Benevento.

The Inter tactician added on the Chilean forward: "I don't deal with the transfer market, what I can say is that we are delighted with Sanchez, as well as with everyone else. They are involved in the game, in the project, they all want to achieve our goals."

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