Eriksen keen on Dortmund move

Borussia Dortmund have been given a boost in their pursuit of Christian Eriksen with the Ajax player saying "a charismatic coach" is important to him.



Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is not only highly regarded for his coaching ability but also for his extrovert character on the touchline and with the media.



Following the sale of Mario Gotze to Bayern Munich and potential departure of Robert Lewandowski, Champions League runners-up Dortmund are in the market for reinforcements this summer.



And Eriksen has told Danish news outlet Sporten.dk that he would welcome a move to a side with a coach he can have a healthy professional relationship with.



"Jurgen Klopp seems like a really good coach and a great person. It can be the difference for me to get a charismatic coach with a tendency to use younger players," he said.



"It is the coach who chooses the team so it is important for me to play for a coach who I can trust and who you can build a good relationship with."



The Denmark international was keen to test himself in Primera Division but claims that is no longer the case.



"That has changed. I wouldn't mind playing in Spain if there was something interesting there for me but I might try a different league first."



Eriksen, reportedly a target for Liverpool, says he has no preference between a move to the Bundesliga or the Premier League, insisting the style of football is of more importance to him.



"They are two very different leagues but they are also very alike," he said. "The German league is on its way up where the English league is now. So I won't prefer one before the other. And it also rains equally much in Germany as it does in England.



"The most important thing is to do what I feel is right. My next club has to express that they really want me.



"I have to feel that it is the right place and then their style of play has to fit me. I can't play in a club that prefers to play with long balls."

Eriksen: It´s great to be linked with Dortmund

Ajax starlet Christian Eriksen has admitted he is flattered to be linked with Borussia Dortmund, but insists he will not leave his current club for free.



The Danish playmaker's contract at the Amsterdam Arena expires at the end of next season, with Premier League duo Liverpool and Tottenham thought to be monitoring his situation.



Dortmund will lose one of their creative stars in the summer when Mario Gotze joins Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and they have reportedly turned their interest to Eriksen as they look to replace the Germany international.



However, while Eriksen is happy to see his name linked to such clubs, he has stated he will not allow his contract to run down and that he would have no issue penning a new deal with Frank de Boer's side.

"I've read that," the 21-year-old told AD when asked about reports linking him with the German club.



"It's great that [the media] link me with such a good club. But right now I'm only focusing on one thing. I want to become a champion and after that we'll see.



"If nothing happens, I'll renew my contract. I owe Ajax so much. I don't want to leave for free."

The Dane has netted 12 times and notched 20 assists in 43 appearances for Ajax this season, who are four points clear of second-placed PSV with just three games remaining in the Dutch league.

Babel ready to re-kick off his form versus City

It is just five years since former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez paid Ajax £12million for the promising Dutch forward Ryan Babel.



On Wednesday at the Amsterdam Arena, Babel faces Manchester City in the Champions League hoping to restart a career that has taken him back to his formative club.

The fact that Babel, still only 25, is back at Ajax is appropriate.





Offered just a one-year contract in the summer after an unhappy spell at German club Hoffenheim, Babel, originally a product of the famed Ajax youth academy, is having to prove himself once more as he looks to earn an extended career here in north Holland.

‘I have made mistakes,’ admitted Babel. ‘But, at 25, it’s not too late to give my career a good twist.

‘I still think I can fulfil my potential and live up to what people thought I would become.

‘I am mentally stronger and I know how to deal with certain situations and different people. The people at Ajax see that.’

Babel was just 19 when Benitez took him to Anfield after seeing him excel in the European Under 21 Championship in the summer of 2007.



In that tournament, Babel played as a central striker. At Liverpool he was asked to learn a wider role and he struggled. Discipline was a problem too and as his place at Anfield became gradually more uncertain, so did his future in England.

By the time he was sold to Hoffenheim in the summer of 2011, Babel’s stock had plummeted. A season in Germany brought him regular football but he was unhappy enough to buy himself out of his contract.

Eventually, after other targets such as the Moroccan Oussama Assaidi and Luciano Narsingh proved too expensive, Ajax coach Frank de Boer took what most observers in Dutch football considered a gamble in bringing one of the national sport’s lost souls back home.

The Ajax team that will face City here tonight is expected to feature just three of the outfield players who faced Manchester United in the Europa League knock-out stages last February.

Short of money, Ajax are once again relying on their De Toekomst academy for talent and, if you forget the five-year hiatus, Babel is seen as part of that.



Having played seven times this season for a team that is unbeaten domestically but sits bottom of its Champions League group, Babel knows he still has questions to answer. Many, for example, think him big-headed and arrogant.

His Dutch career is no longer a priority. Coach Louis van Gaal is not a fan and Babel, despite his 42 caps, has played once in two years.

What is more important tonight is proving a point to those who still doubt him.

‘I don’t think people in England ever saw the best of me,’ he said. ‘For a player to really be at his best you have to give him a certain confidence, but I did not feel appreciated by some people at Liverpool.



‘Ajax have given me a chance again to prove myself and I’m happy for that.

‘The City game is a good platform for me to show the people who doubt Ryan Babel what I can do.’