A fine young midfield prospect, Eriksen learnt his trade with Ajax and has been tipped for greatness with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Barcelona monitoring his progress.

Eriksen began his development in the game when he switched to Odense Boldklub in 2005. There he won the Danish youth championships before deciding to join Dutch club Ajax in 2008. The famed academy in Amsterdam ensured that his talent would not be wasted and he was soon promoted to the first-team where he starred.

Running the game as a traditional No. 10, he slotted easily into the Ajax set-up and his breakthrough season came in 2010-11. Impressing all with his calm composure on the ball, scoring the occasional goal and setting up plenty of others, many have tipped him to emerge as a star of the Danish national side for many years to come after he was the youngest player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Strengths: Comfortable on the ball and has a great range of passing.

Weaknesses: Because of his size, he can be knocked off the ball and tends to drift in and out of games occasionally.

Career high: Winning the Dutch title in 2010-11 for the first time. He was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year, as well as Danish Football Player of the Year.

Career low: Coming on as a sub in Denmark's 3-1 defeat to Japan at the World Cup that saw them crash out.

Style: Creative, tricky, balanced, a visionary midfielder.

Quotes: "He's a player I really like with all my heart. This prize [Dutch Football Talent of the Year] is just the beginning, a stimulus to get the maximum out of his career. The talent is there, the recognition also; now it is up to the player himself. He is a typical product of the Danish school. You can compare him with Brian and Michael Laudrup. Only time will tell if Eriksen can reach the same level as them." Johan Cruyff on Eriksen in 2010.

Trivia: Eriksen scored his first national goal to give Denmark a 2-0 lead over Iceland in the Euro 2012 qualifier in June 2011. He became the youngest Danish player ever to score a goal in European qualification, being nine days younger than Michael Laudrup when he scored his first goal in 1983.