Jesper Lindstrom has opened up about the harrowing experience of watching Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest during the Euros, all while he was at his brother's wedding. The Everton loanee revealed how he and others covertly monitored Denmark's match against Finland on their phones beneath the dinner table.
"I was at the wedding reception, with my phone on the side, watching the game with some other guys," Lindstrom recounted, who joined Everton for the season from Napoli. "My brother didn't know we were watching, of course - but we had to do it because we love football.
"When Christian collapsed, then everyone started looking into their phones. My brother said 'What's wrong? ’ It was crazy.
"The wedding totally stopped, with everybody wanting to know what was going on.
"Luckily, Christian is alive. He is such a good person - and a very good player. I am so happy for him and his family that he is still playing. I can imagine it was very tough for all of them."
"He wouldn't have known what happened because basically he had died, but everybody in Denmark was thinking about him."
Now, three years later, Lindstrom eagerly anticipates playing against his international colleague when Everton faces Manchester United.
Premier League aspirant Lindstrom is itching for success in England after an unfulfilling stint at Napoli post his transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt. Despite high regard in the Bundesliga attracting Everton, Liverpool, and Brentford's glances, he made a leap to Serie A.
Speaking of his challenging year, Lindstrom confessed to Everton's interest: "I had a bad year at Napoli, but Everton knew what I did before that," Lindstrom stated. "They have an option and I will do everything I can for them to buy me because I like it here.
"I have to show them that I'm good enough. It is a lot of money, more than £20million, so I need to make some goals and some assists - and this is what I'm fighting for.
"If at the end they don't take the option, then that’s how it is. I will still have taken something out of this move because I feel like I'm training hard and I'm learning a lot.
"I have done okay so far, but I need to do more because I am fighting for my spot.
"I am running a lot - helping the team defensively and offensively and trying my best. I am training good and think I'm showing I can play from the start now because at first I would cramp up after 60 minutes."
An exciting clash awaits at Old Trafford where Lindstrom anticipates a battle against former youth teammate and present United frontman, Rasmus Hojlund, who once seemed unlikely for his future £72million valuation.
The United No 9 has had a challenging start in England, yet he managed to net twice as United triumphed over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday night. Lindstrom shared: "Rasmus is my good friend - and he’s on fire.
"I texted him after the game, congratulating him on his two goals - but told him not to score at the weekend. He said ‘I will try my best to score goals!' The reason he's at Manchester is because he's a good player. I knew him since he was about 10 years old - and he didn't seem much when he was young but then suddenly speeded up.
"Rasmus wasn’t really special then. His Danish team didn't really believe in him and that's why he left for another club in Austria where he smashed it. Then I went to Italy and smashed it.
"He has good qualities, but what is very good about him is that he's always hungry and wants to score goals. Even though he might not have a good game, he can always score goals."