CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN

Who is he? Where does he play?

He is the 21 year old quick-footed attacking midfielder who, after emerging at Odense in Denmark, went to Ajax to receive the latter years of his football education and it shows. Two footed and skillful, it looks emphatically like the Ajax print of footballing genius is marked on him somewhere, perhaps on his lower back or his shoulder.

I think we've heard of him before

You may have done, he's been in the Ajax first team since breaking through as an 18 year old back in 2010 and has already represented Denmark at the World Cup of 2010 (where he was the youngest player at the tournament) and Euro 2012. In a friendly match with England in 2011, Eriksen proved his quality with a man of the match performance in which he hit the crossbar and left Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand salivating over his talent.

High praise indeed... so what can he do?

He is in the same mould of Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere in the way he can sit comfortably in central-midfield and burst forward to create in attack. The Dane is brilliant at turning away from his markers with his slight 5ft 9 inch frame offering an impressive level of balance, and he can easily thread a pass through the eye of a needle to make chances for others. In this year's Champions League he tallied 4 assists in 6 games.

Can score too?

He can. 10 goals this season has bought his total tally up to 27 but with a grand total of 48 assists so far in his short career, it is clear where his prowess lies. He has the tricks, the poise, the direction to beat defenders in order to offer a big threat in the final third. His recent goal against Waalwijk, in which he cut in from the left across two men before shooting with his right foot, is indicative of what he can do. He can also play centre-forward too, in that new-fangled "false-nine" position tactics-enthusiasts all seem to love.

Ajax have financial problems don't they, will he have to leave?

You are correct again, well done! Yes they do, and Eriksen has already sent the transfer rumour mill crazy by stalling on a new contract.  It does look like a move beckons for the young Dane in the summer as clubs including Spurs, who reportedly made a move for him last August, queue up over themselves to pluck the player who has drawn comparisons to previous Danish genius Michael Laudrup.

Liverpool?

Yep, well he's technically gifted, young, able to play in a variety of positions and can attack with devastating force, so Brendan Rodgers is inevitably being linked. Eriksen is contracted to 2014 at Ajax so he won't be available for free, but a club may be able to lure him away for a reduced price given the uncertainty over his contract.