Liverpool Transfer News: Christian Eriksen Should Be Reds' Top Priority

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better for Liverpool, Christian Eriksen could very well fall right in their laps.

Ajax manager Frank de Boer has already acknowledged Eriksen is probably off this summer, per Sky Sports:

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It is up to Christian what he wants. If he feels good going to Liverpool, then it is up to him.

I would want nothing more than having him with us for a few more years.

But we realise the interest in this kind of player is huge. And I can also understand that he wants to make another step in his career. I can't stop him.

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Eriksen only has a year left on his contract, so Ajax know this is the last time they'll get to be able to profit off the player before he can leave for nothing. There's still a chance he could sign a new deal, but it's probably better that he move on from the Eredivisie.

After losing out on Henrik Mkhitaryan, Eriksen would be a great consolation prize for Liverpool.

Borussia Dortmund were linked to the 21-year-old midfielder. Since they've gotten Mkhitaryan, Eriksen will no longer be an option.

The lack of Champions League football for Liverpool could be an issue, but this is a player who greatly values playing time. He admitted in an interview with The Guardian's Stuart James that he turned down a move to Manchester City but was afraid that he would struggle to get on the pitch:

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Again, it was the feeling to get to a big club where they buy some new players every six months. Then, probably, if you didn't do well in the beginning, you would go out on loan. I wouldn't like that. For me, it was just about wanting to play.

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At Liverpool, Eriksen would unquestionably be the top option in the center of midfield. Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen would likely be the top competition for Eriksen. He should be able to get ahead of the two, even with Henderson's improvement last season and Joe Allen only having been bought last year.

Henderson is more of a box-to-box midfielder rather than creator, and Allen failed to gain a footing in the first team last year.

Liverpool have failed to find another deep-lying playmaker since Xabi Alonso left in 2009. For years, players and supporters were bemoaning what Alonso's absence did to the club. In Eriksen, the Reds would have their playmaker for the present and future.

After Euro 2012, many experts and fans' opinions on Eriksen dropped. He didn't have a great performance, often going anonymous for long stretches of Denmark's matches. Of course, with the Danes lacking a ton of creative players, opposing teams were able to key on Eriksen and mark him out of the match.

In the early part of the Eredivisie season, Eriksen continued to look average. If anything, he seemed to be getting complacent in the Netherlands, having accomplished everything he possibly could have. Then, at about midseason, Eriksen turned it on and was one of the biggest reasons Ajax were able to win their third Eredivisie title in a row.

He finished with 10 goals and 17 assists in the league, running his total to 23 and 48 in 109 appearances for the club.

At an early age, it was clear Eriksen was destined to become a star. He got trials at Chelsea, AC Milan and Barcelona when he was 14 years old. He eventually opted for Ajax because of their track record at moving Danish players through the system. The midfielder made his Ajax debut at 17 years old.

Considering how long he's been on the radar of big European clubs, it's easy to forget that Eriksen is only 21 years old. He's still going to make mistakes that a lot of young footballers make. Eriksen is still three or four years away from his prime.

It's hard not to think that this is a player who will have the world at his feet. It's only a matter of time.

Eriksen can play just about anywhere in midfield. You could even play him as a forward, and he would thrive. Eriksen is so adept at threading balls through the midfield. His vision and intelligence are off the charts as well. There would be a transition should he move to the Premier League, but the player would have no trouble succeeding in England.

Eriksen demonstrates exactly why it is still so beneficial to move to Ajax if you're a talented, creative young player. He's learned so much at the club and is ready to move on to bigger and better things. Ajax, to their credit, know that it's better for the player if he moves on, and they won't stand in his way.

Brendan Rodgers has done some great bits of business by purchasing Simon Mignolet, Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto while signing Kolo Toure on a free. By nabbing Eriksen, Rodgers would be giving Liverpool supporters real reason to think that the Reds could get back to the Champions League.