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“What was very important to me was that I wanted to play for a club where I could see myself for many years, and Tottenham was the one,” he said.
‘I am very proud, very happy, excited. I think the club has a fantastic future ahead of it and I really wanted to be a part of that.
“The Spurs have fantastic players, a fantastic coach, a fantastic set-up.
“ I feel lucky and proud to be a part of it, and I want to give it my all, but I also want to learn a lot, push to take the next step, but maintaining that consistency. ”
Those are the words of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg when he signed for Tottenham Hotspur on 11 August.
Fast forward three and a half months to today and the Spurs summer signing looks like he’s been with the club for years as he continues to take several steps forward.
Hojbjerg joined the North London team in a £ 20 million transfer from Southampton. Despite being the club’s first signing in the summer window, the midfielder’s arrival was overshadowed by subsequent Tottenham acquisitions, none more so than the return of Gareth Bale on loan from Real Madrid.
Hojbjerg may have been a signing that didn’t generate much fanfare among Tottenham fans, but they already know his worth with his coach José Mourinho.
The 25-year-old has started all nine of Tottenham’s Premier League games this season and it is no coincidence that they sit at the top of the table with 20 points, on the same level as current champions Liverpool but with a difference goals plus seven.
Playing at the base of the Spurs midfield in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the Denmark international has been brilliant in the double pivot role this season.
Of Mourinho’s central midfield options, he has been the featured player.
Only Tanguy Ndombele has also appeared in all nine games this season, but the Frenchman has been used twice from the bench.
In terms of his top skills, it’s no wonder Hojbjerg leads his teammates (Ndombele, Moussa Sissoko, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks) in defensive stats.
No one has made more tackles (27) than the Dane or recovered more (64). The warning should, of course, be that he has played more minutes (810) than anyone else. However, the fall between him and Sissoko is surprising considering that the latter has played the second with the most minutes (573). The Frenchman has recovered 35, 29 fewer than Hojbjerg, and has made 12 tackles, 17 fewer in this category.
In terms of dueling success, Hojbjerg has won 48.6% of his matches. Only Winks (50 percent) have a higher percentage, but he has only appeared four times in the top flight this season and played 257 minutes. Therefore, this can increase your average.
In an offensive sense, Tottenham No. 5’s game is equally impressive. He and Ndombele are the only two central midfielders to provide an assist (one each), while no one has made more passes than the former (695). Ndombele is the closest with 281 passes, highlighting the number of phases Hojbjerg goes through.
In terms of passing accuracy, the midfielder leads this category with 89.06% of complete passes. In fact, in his five Premier League seasons (including his time at Southampton) this is Hojbjerg’s best season for this statistic. He is also enjoying career highs in terms of average number of passes (77.2) and tackles (3.2) per game.
This highlights Hojbjerg’s influence at Tottenham, but it’s how his role in England’s top flight has changed that is most striking.
With Mourinho he has become more of a ball player than when he was in Southampton. His first season at Southampton (2016-17 season) he averaged 69.4 passes per 90 minutes and that is the closest to his current career record. Again, this should be noted by the fact that Tottenham tend to have more possession in games than Southampton.
But you don’t have to compare Hojbjerg’s numbers with his or his Tottenham teammates to notice his improvement.
Ahead of this weekend’s action (Nov. 27-30), no Premier League midfielder has made more passes (695) or completed more (619) than the 25-year-old so far this season. Manchester City’s Rodri is second in both stats (644 passes and 586 completed).
In terms of touches, Hojbjerg is the main manipulator of a ball (806 touches). Leicester City star Youri Tielemans is second on this list, but has touched the ball 71 fewer times (738).
When comparing defensive efforts, only Everton midfielder Allan (35) and former Southampton teammate Oriol Romeu (33) have made more tackles.
Hojbjerg is sixth in terms of recoveries, a list led by Rodri and Stuart Dallas of Leeds (75 each), with Dallas’ numbers boosted by the fact that he can also play defense for Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
When it comes to punts and duels won, Hojbjerg is also in the top 10, emphasizing his action impact on the Spurs.
Hojbjerg is Mourinho’s general midfield and was excellent in his 2-0 statement over title rivals Manchester City on 21 November.
A photo of full-time Mourinho passionately growling at his midfielder was soon caught on the club’s social media account. Hojbjerg duly quoted it and tweeted it with the message ‘beast mode’.
The Dane has certainly been that as the Spurs advance. They will expect the form to continue Sunday at bitter rivals Chelsea.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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