Many Southampton fans laughed at Tottenham signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer, insisting they no longer wanted him at their club while predicting he would flop in North London.
A lot of Spurs supporters didn’t think much of the 25-year-old either, but he’s impressed under Jose Mourinho, looks a bargain acquisition (£3m + Kyle Walker-Peters) and has drawn praise from club captain Hugo Lloris.
It’s time to admit Hojberg has pleasantly surprised us and that Mourinho correctly identified what our midfield needed without breaking the bank.
The composed ball-winner we wanted Eric Dier to be
Hojbjerg has made seven Premier League appearances for us, creating five chances, completing 89.5% of his 589 passes, winning 12/21 aerial duels (57%), making 2/5 successful dribbles (40%), averaging a tackle (17) or interception (7) every 26 minutes and making 13 clearances.
No player in our squad has made more passes or tackles than Hojbjerg this season, which was what we wanted Eric Dier to be in midfield – a composed ball-winner. We’ve strengthened our engine room without paying a premium and are reaping the rewards.
The perfect Mourinho player
The staple of a strong Mourinho side is having an impenetrable midfield. At FC Porto (2002-2004), he had Costinha and Pedro Mendes.
At Chelsea (2004-2007) (2013-2015), he had Claude Makalele, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Ramires and Nemanja Matic. At Inter Milan (2007-2010), he had Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, Patrick Vieira, Thiago Motta and Sulley Muntari. And at Real Madrid (2010-2013), he had Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra, Luka Modric and Sami Khedira.
At Tottenham, Mourinho has Hojbjerg, Tanguy Dembele and Moussa Sissoko. We’re currently third in the Premier League with 14 points from seven games, boasting the joint-third best defensive record (9), so it’s clearly working right now. Our newest arrival looks at home in London and here’s hoping it can continue.
Hojbjerg may have struggled for consistency at Southampton, but let’s not forget that he made 25 appearances over four years at Bayern Munich (2012-2016). Joining the club’s reserve team at the age of 16 and leaving for the Saints at 20/21. He was still a kid when Southampton signed him, but is he now realising his potential after years of Premier League experience?
In other news, here’s how Tanguy Ndombele turned things around at Tottenham