Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg deserves another Tottenham chance amid ‘Crucial’ Denmark verdict
Ange Postecoglou should perhaps consider offering Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg a bigger role at Tottenham over the coming months.
After his role as a mainstay in the Tottenham midfield under Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, Hojbjerg has had to settle for a reduced role under Postecoglou.
The Australian has wasted little time making his mark on Tottenham, transforming the team’s style of play and personnel during his debut season in North London.
That has left little playing time available for Hojbjerg, which is further decreased by the fact that Spurs have only Premier League matches on their calendar.
Tottenham News previously revealed (19 January) that Spurs will not offer the 28-year-old a new contract, with his current deal set to expire in 2025.
However, despite his limited role at club level, that appears to have very little say on his role with Denmark at international level, with Hojbjerg’s national boss Kasper Hjulmand piling praise on the midfielder this week ahead of this summer’s UEFA Europan Championships in Germany.
Hjulmand said (via Bold, 19 March), “If anyone thinks you can remove Pierre and replace him with someone else, it’s not true. He has been everything to us for the last three years. He is a volcano in the national team and has so much influence on our team.
“He is dominant with his physical strength and delivered a crucial goal against Finland. He has a passion that drives the team with ferocity. There is no doubt at all that Pierre has a huge impact on our entire team.”
“I find it hard to imagine replacing him for the Euros because he has such a huge impact and importance to our game. Of course, there is always a limit, but as the situation is right now, I trust Pierre 100%.”
Should Ange Postecoglou give Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg another chance to prove himself at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?
After the way that Fulham dominated the Tottenham midfield in their 3-0 victory over the North London side at Craven Cottage last Saturday (16 March), it is clear that Postecoglou could do with shaking things up in the middle of the park.
Hojbjerg was introduced in the 66th minute of that clash with his side already three goals behind, and following the Dane’s introduction, Spurs looked much improved and created some of their best chances of the match.
Hojbjerg’s cameo performance was certainly not a bad one as he completed 97 per cent of his passes with one of those key (Sofascore).
He also completed 100 per cent of his long balls forward (two out of two) and won one of his two ground duels while also making one clearance.
It followed an impressive cameo display at Villa Park the week before as Tottenham recorded their biggest win of the season with a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa (10 March).
Although he was only on for 12 minutes, Hojbjerg completed 100 per cent of his passes, won 100 per cent of his ground duels and completed 100 per cent of his dribbles and long balls forward.
Spurs have been leaking goals for fun recently, conceding nine goals in their last six matches and 42 overall in the Premier League this season, the joint-most with Aston Villa of any team in the top six.
With the race for UEFA Champions League football heating up, Postecoglou might be wise to hand Hojbjerg some more minutes in the coming weeks to help steady the ship in North London.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs continue to produce top Under-21 talent after what happened this week.
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