Can Hakan Calhanoglu really replace Christian Eriksen? The 27-year old came to Inter Milan on a free transfer. Inter managed to secure the signing quickly and was able to get him from their city rivals, AC Milan. After a horrifying injury to Christian Eriksen in the UEFA Euros 2020, Inter decided to bring in a midfielder who can replace him. Hakan Calhanoglu was the ideal choice and he has performed well in his first two matches. In the first match, he scored a goal and provided an assist and looked very comfortable in Inter.
Inzaghi has managed to fit him in the squad easily and has given him some freedom to move on the pitch. Under Conte, players had certain roles and had to maintain their discipline and stay in their position. But Inzaghi has given him the freedom he had in AC Milan and that has helped Inter.
Can Hakan Calhanoglu really replace Christian Eriksen at Inter?
Christian Eriksen took some time to settle in Milan and started many games on the bench. But he understood Conte’s system slowly and started performing for Inter. But Calhanoglu is slightly different from Eriksen and he will give Inter something different. Eriksen likes to play much deeper and dictate the game from there. He has better passing accuracy than Calhanoglu as he likes to play short passes and then takes the team forward. While Calhanoglu plays higher up the pitch and close to the forwards. This can be seen from the ‘progressive passes received’ stat. Eriksen gets 2.79 per game while Calhanoglu gets 6.88. This shows that Calhanoglu likes to stay up and makes several runs to take the team ahead.
Calhanoglu excels in progressive passes and shot-creating chances than Eriksen. He gives 5.61 progressive passes per game while Eriksen has 4.79. Calhanoglu gives 5.88 shot-creating chances in the game while Eriksen gives 3.51.
