Tottenham Hotspur‘s signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton has proven to be something of a masterstroke by Daniel Levy but not everyone was on board when the Denmark international joined.
Hojbjerg signed for Spurs in the summer of 2020 in a deal worth £15m, with Kyle Walker-Peters heading in the opposite direction after a successful loan spell with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
Since then, the midfielder has gone on to establish himself as a key player in Spurs’ side, making 110 appearances, in which he has contributed seven goals and 11 assists.
Despite being a solid player in Southampton’s side the previous season, averaging an impressive 6.83 rating from WhoScored for his performances, not everyone was convinced by Levy’s transfer business, with former Spurs forward Darren Bent particularly critical on talkSPORT.
He said:
“It looks like Spurs are going to sign Hojbjerg from Southampton, this is one for me that I don’t quite get.
“I think he’s a good player but can he take Spurs to the next level? I don’t think he can. I think Spurs fans will like him because he works hard, don’t think they’ll be excited by it but they’ll understand it.”
Has Hojbjerg become undroppable?
With Spurs now back in the Champions League and threatening at the top of the table under Antonio Conte, Hojbjerg has more than proven his worth in the heart of the Italian’s midfield.
So far this season, only Harry Kane has been ranked higher than Hojbjerg in Spurs’ side by WhoScored, with the Dane averaging a superb 7.53 rating for his performances in the Premier League, with two goals and an assist to his name.
The midfield “monster” has taken his game to another level so far this season, perhaps threatened by the summer addition of Yves Bissouma, and he looks likely to be a key part of any potential Spurs title challenge.
In a deep-lying role, Hojbjerg has excelled in comparison to some of his peers across the Premier League – currently, he sits amongst the top 10% of all midfielders across Europe for progressive passes (6.02 per 90) over the last year, via FBref, which is more than Casemiro, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho and even Rodri.
Therefore, Bent will surely be eating his words on the former Bayern Munich man, as the £15m Levy paid looks to have been a bargain when you consider that he is arguably “invaluable” in this exciting Spurs side.
