Speaking to Football.London, Spurs midfielder Oliver Skipp has stated he’s “watching and learning” from both Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, as he looks to force his way into the starting eleven.
Both Bentancur and Hojbjerg have been key components in the club’s good start to the season, which sees them sitting 4th in the league as well as through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Skipp on the midfield pair:
“To be fair, those two especially have been brilliant this season,”
“I think in the last month or so they’ve even gone on another level again, so I’m watching and learning from them, trying to take bits from their games and seeing what they’re doing well at the moment.
“They’re getting more goals and assists this season which they’ve added to their game, so they’ve been fantastic for us and credit to them. I think all the midfield group, with Yves and the young lads as well, Harvey White and Pape Matar Sarr, we’re all pushing each other.”
Skipp has only managed to rack up 127 minutes of league action so far this season, having only recently recovered from strain of injuries.
Conte – who has previously hailed Skipp as a player that is “very important for the present and for the future of Tottenham”(via TeamTalk) – has been deployed the youngster on the right side of a midfield three, tasked with making runs in-behind Harry Kane – which is something fans have never seen Skipp do. Some sections of the Spurs fan base have called for Skipp to be played his usual holding midfield position, but Conte has opted for Yves Bissouma instead.
The midfielder will no doubt hope to soon get back to full fitness and work his way back to into the starting eleven – no matter the position. When he inevitably does so, fans will hope he can replicate some of his fantastic displays from early last season – which saw him make 18 league appearances before his injury.
Skipp on his injury issues:
“It was hard for me this year because you always want to be playing and I was out for such a long period of time, until the end of the season, then obviously I had the second setback in pre-season, although I wasn’t out for too long with that, but it was frustrating,” he said.
“I felt like I was in a good moment before it happened as well, but these things occur in football and you’ll be very lucky if you go through your whole career without it.
“It was a tough one with the fact that there was no real set time period for me to be out. It wasn’t like I was told I would be out for any exact amount of months, so that was the hardest thing that I couldn’t quite get my head around, in terms of when I was going to be back, but thankfully my family, friends and everyone at the club just tried to keep me positive and knowing that there’d be moments in the future when I’d be back doing what I do best. Ultimately, it’s in the past now, I’m over it and I’m just looking forward to the next few months.”
Skipp did not feature his sides dramatic 4-3 victory over Leeds – a win which meant Spurs would be sitting fourth in the league, until the league resumes on Boxing Day.
Skipp on the club’s start to the season:
“I think we’ve had spells in the season where we’ve played well and not got the results and then maybe spells where we haven’t played so well, but then got results,” said Skipp. “To get through in the Champions League was a big goal of ours at the start of the season as well so it’s positive that we’ve achieved that, especially the way we did it – it felt extra-special.”
In a strange way I was thrilled with Skipp’s injury to the pubic synthesis.
Why? you might ask. Because I had never heard of such an injury until about four years ago when the same injury happened to me–during physical therapy of all things. ]
Man, did it hurt when it happened and I remember calling our in pain, quite loudly, which startled the hell our of my therapist, who also had never seen such a thing.
Took the better part of a year to heal. Fortunately, the only physical part of my work is with my fingers on a keyboard and turning pages in books, and the muscles that hold me up while sitting in a chair, but I cannot imagine (well, yes, of course I can imagine) the frustration a professional footballer coming into his prime must have experienced.
Hope he’s able to get his career back on track, but I saw a story just today that Paratici is looking to sign someone to replace him. Oh well, Oliver, THFC isn’t the only club in the world, although it is the best in all that counts–its traditional style of play is second to none.
Which leads me to the inevitable: Mr. Conte should leave. He doesn’t grasp our traditions. FFS, I’d bring back as gaffer Mr. G. Hoddle, with his notions of reincarnation and all. He got fired for his religious beliefs? Wow. But was a bit insensitive to the disabled, I guess. Funny old world where disabilities and karma clash in a man’s career.