Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

As a Dane, I can confirm that he is very average. He rarely stands out for the national team. But one thing he brings to the table is attitude and hard work. He is a winner. And has shown at Southampton that he doesn't give up. Was completely out of the team at one point, but has fought his way back and become captain.

In that regard, he is everything Mourinho want in a player. But in terms of ability, he hasn't got the concentration and positional ability to be a holding og defensive midfielder, and he hasn't got the technique and composure to be a playmaker. I don't see him working too well in a compact and deep positioned side like Mourinho tends to shape his teams to be. He is much more suited to play in a high-pressing and aggressive team.

But. He is 24, and has several times proved me wrong. His attitude alone has brought him a long way, so the question is if his disabilities will be too much of a hindrance for him to succeed at the level Spurs are aiming for.
 
He is exactly the sort of player we have missed in midfield so I'm pleased. Amazing deal too - basically costing us around £3million with selling Walker-Peters to them.
 
Yeah I don't really see why Spurs want to sign him. He isn't going to improve them.
 
Sometimes you don't need the absolute best players in all positions to win games. Maybe there's a specific system in mind and Hojbjerg is coming in to fulfil that role within that system. I have a Spurs supporting mate who often wondered why we would continue to play Park Ji-Sung when there were better players out there in his position who we could have signed. Eventually, he had to admit that Sir Alex had a role for him within that team and he fulfilled the job within that role better than anyone else could have. There will no doubt be hundreds of other examples out there where this will also apply.

I don't know enough about this player to comment, but it seems like a very low risk signing to me. We'll see what happens.
 
FootyGirl88 said:
What kind of midfielder is he?
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Hardworking allrounder. More box to box than sitter, but he has better defensive qualities without being shit on the ball, runs a lot and puts in a good shift. Mourinho will like him quite a bit. He will be a starter for them under him i imagine. He is better without the ball than with it, but for Jose that isn't super important, they got Lo Celso for the creative part.
 
balaks said:
He is exactly the sort of player we have missed in midfield so I'm pleased. Amazing deal too - basically costing us around £3million with selling Walker-Peters to them.
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Indeed. I don’t get why people are so against this type of signing for you. If you look at your midfield it isn’t exactly outstanding since Eriksen and Dembele left and he will add some much needed tenacity to it. He’s only 24 so has a lot of time to still improve and at that price it was a no brainer for us and you to be interested.
 
izec said:
Hardworking allrounder. More box to box than sitter, but he has better defensive qualities without being shit on the ball, runs a lot and puts in a good shift. Mourinho will like him quite a bit. He will be a starter for them under him i imagine. He is better without the ball than with it, but for Jose that isn't super important, they got Lo Celso for the creative part.
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They have Ndombele for this role no? They just need to give the guy time, he’s defo the better player of the two.
 
MiracleInMadrid said:
As a Dane, I can confirm that he is very average. He rarely stands out for the national team. But one thing he brings to the table is attitude and hard work. He is a winner. And has shown at Southampton that he doesn't give up. Was completely out of the team at one point, but has fought his way back and become captain.

In that regard, he is everything Mourinho want in a player. But in terms of ability, he hasn't got the concentration and positional ability to be a holding og defensive midfielder, and he hasn't got the technique and composure to be a playmaker. I don't see him working too well in a compact and deep positioned side like Mourinho tends to shape his teams to be. He is much more suited to play in a high-pressing and aggressive team.

But. He is 24, and has several times proved me wrong. His attitude alone has brought him a long way, so the question is if his disabilities will be too much of a hindrance for him to succeed at the level Spurs are aiming for.
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Agree my danish comrade. I don’t see anything worth getting up my seat for when he’s playing. He’s an average, PL-quality player, nothing more. That being said... Mourinho will LOVE him. He’s going to rush through brick walls at just the slightest wink from José. Maybe he’s exactly what Spurs need, I don’t watch many of their games so it’s hard for me to say, but I struggle to see him improving their midfield.
 
Maagge said:
Yeah I don't really see why Spurs want to sign him. He isn't going to improve them.
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Hojbjerg is serviceable. But it is more to do with what Spurs need in their midfield than the player. There are better DM's like Ndidi, but Spurs are not prying Ndidi away from Leicester so you take what you can get. At 25 Hjobjerg is just coming into his prime, if he settles in, could be the anchor for Spurs midfield for the foreseeable future.

His role will totally be that of a DM under Jose, he will want him sitting in front of the defence breaking up play. He has Sissoko or Ndombele to fill the box to box role. Or if he wants a technician in there for a certain game he has Lo Celso or Winks to keep the passing ticking over.

Hojbjerg will be there to put a foot in, track runners from midfield, screen the CB's. Spurs have lacked that kind of player in midfield, and with Dier moving back into defence to cover Vertonghen's departure they have no DM's. Despite having like 10 CM's it seems.
 
“He’s just want spurs need” what a completely bang average midfielder who wouldn’t look out of place playing for the bottom teams. Jose has done it again it seems!
 
TrustInJanuzaj said:
“He’s just want spurs need” what a completely bang average midfielder who wouldn’t look out of place playing for the bottom teams. Jose has done it again it seems!
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He may not be a flashy or exciting player but he looks exactly the sort of player we have been missing. I'm happy with the signing and hope he can become a really solid player for us. Not every player signed is coming in to be a total world beater, but if he fits exactly the way Jose wants us to play then I'm 100% behind it.
 
It’s pretty low value £15m(?) so it can hardly go wrong. I don’t think he’ll offer much more than ‘tenacity’ or ‘attitude’. Which is exactly what Jose will want from him, so fair enough!
 
balaks said:
He may not be a flashy or exciting player but he looks exactly the sort of player we have been missing. I'm happy with the signing and hope he can become a really solid player for us. Not every player signed is coming in to be a total world beater, but if he fits exactly the way Jose wants us to play then I'm 100% behind it.
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I believe he can be for you what Dier was at the base of your midfield, when Dier was at his best. He even has better vision than Dier
 
José is turning Spurs into a strong midtable contender.. Never change José.
 
arthurka said:
José is turning Spurs into a strong midtable contender.. Never change José.
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I'm actually feeling much more positive about next season than I was - I honestly think we will be a serious contender for top 4 next season (at least) and I'll be very disappointed if we aren't.
 
Looks like a Mourinho signing but without the flashy price. Can see him being just average and okay while Ndombele undergoes a massive transformation at Inter or wherever he ends up.
 
Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:
I believe he can be for you what Dier was at the base of your midfield, when Dier was at his best. He even has better vision than Dier
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I agree, by all accounts it sounds like this guy has a top class attitude and determination - club captain at 24 is quite unusual. We need more characters like that in the squad. This signing I think could be very important for us - not wildly exciting though but sometimes the best signings aren't the most high profile ones.
 
balaks said:
I'm actually feeling much more positive about next season than I was - I honestly think we will be a serious contender for top 4 next season (at least) and I'll be very disappointed if we aren't.
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Yes no... He will have his meltdown next season..
 
Does this shift Dier to a full time CB?
 
MiracleInMadrid said:
As a Dane, I can confirm that he is very average. He rarely stands out for the national team. But one thing he brings to the table is attitude and hard work. He is a winner. And has shown at Southampton that he doesn't give up. Was completely out of the team at one point, but has fought his way back and become captain.

In that regard, he is everything Mourinho want in a player. But in terms of ability, he hasn't got the concentration and positional ability to be a holding og defensive midfielder, and he hasn't got the technique and composure to be a playmaker. I don't see him working too well in a compact and deep positioned side like Mourinho tends to shape his teams to be. He is much more suited to play in a high-pressing and aggressive team.

But. He is 24, and has several times proved me wrong. His attitude alone has brought him a long way, so the question is if his disabilities will be too much of a hindrance for him to succeed at the level Spurs are aiming for.
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Reading this gives me grim flashbacks to whenever we were linked with someone shite under Mourinho and I tried to readjust my thinking and focus on all the faint positives about the player instead of admitting we were just chasing trash.
 
balaks said:
I agree, by all accounts it sounds like this guy has a top class attitude and determination - club captain at 24 is quite unusual. We need more characters like that in the squad. This signing I think could be very important for us - not wildly exciting though but sometimes the best signings aren't the most high profile ones.
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Im convinced he is the missing link to get your side playing Mourinho's favoured transition ball. You had every other thing necessary save for an anchor man of his type. Y'all will be very dangerous next season. Especially if mourinho stays happy and picks internal fights with no one.
 
balaks said:
I'm actually feeling much more positive about next season than I was - I honestly think we will be a serious contender for top 4 next season (at least) and I'll be very disappointed if we aren't.
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I think you're getting a bit excited here mate. Especially with the at least top 4. I've not seen anything to suggest you'll be in that pack and signings like this one won't change my mind on it.
 
TheReligion said:
I think you're getting a bit excited here mate. Especially with the at least top 4. I've not seen anything to suggest you'll be in that pack and signings like this one won't change my mind on it.
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Since the restart, they have had the fourth best form in the league, ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Wolves.

I think they'll be there or thereabouts next season and we'll see another tight battle amongst the teams between 3rd and 6th.
 
balaks said:
I'm actually feeling much more positive about next season than I was - I honestly think we will be a serious contender for top 4 next season (at least) and I'll be very disappointed if we aren't.
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when Jose came to United, I thought ‘the third season syndrome’ was just a fluke turned into a narrative. Following him closer, it turned out that it’s no coincidence. So I fully expect Spurs to have a fairly good season this next one. If one of United or Chelsea don’t improve as projected, fourth is realistic.

But season after that ...
 
Grande said:
when Jose came to United, I thought ‘the third season syndrome’ was just a fluke turned into a narrative. Following him closer, it turned out that it’s no coincidence. So I fully expect Spurs to have a fairly good season this next one. If one of United or Chelsea don’t improve as projected, fourth is realistic.

But season after that ...
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This could well be right. It would be very "Jose" for him to take Spurs to a third place finish and the Europa League trophy next year, before crashing and burning in an ugly disaster of a season in 2021/22.

I wonder if Spurs fans would take that now if offered.
 
Infra-red said:
This could well be right. It would be very "Jose" for him to take Spurs to a third place finish and the Europa League trophy next year, before crashing and burning in an ugly disaster of a season in 2021/22.

I wonder if Spurs fans would take that now if offered.
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I would bite your arm off for it.
 
Ndombele has his place booked on the bench for next season then
 
He always impressed me at Bayern, so perhaps with better players around him he’d be a little more appreciated than he seems to be at the moment.
 
He's a solid player. Not really a pure DM in my eyes though, more of a box to box engine. Would definitely be a better DM than Sissokho, but I have my doubts if Spurs fans' dream midfield of Hojberg, GLC and Ndombele (assuming Mou actually lets him play) is as balanced as they think.
 
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