Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fails Tottenham audition, Ange Postecoglou hand now forced v Manchester City
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou must think twice about selecting Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for next weekend’s showdown with Manchester City after the midfielder failed his chance to impress against Aston Villa.
Hojbjerg was brought on a little over half an hour into the 2-1 home loss at the hands of top-four rivals Villa on Sunday (26 November) in place of the injured Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Argentina international was starting his first game since returning from a long-term lay-off, but a horror challenge from Matty Cash brought his game to an early end.
With Pape Matar Sarr injured for the visit of Villa and Yves Bissouma suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, Postecoglou turned to Hojbjerg to partner Giovani Lo Celso – himself not yet fully fit.
While Hojbjerg did have some promising moments against the Villans, which included forcing Emi Martinez into a top-class save, he ultimately disappointed.
The Dane won just 50% of his eight ground and aerial duels combined, while he lost possession 12 times in his hour or so on the field [Sofascore].
To put that into some perspective, central-midfield team-mate Lo Celso gave away the ball seven times despite playing almost the full game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Losing Bentancur meant Spurs lost an attacking edge to their game, as admitted by Postecoglou when speaking to reporters after the game, as per Football.London [26 November].
“I thought [Bentancur] started the game so well and I think it was the reason we got a real good foothold on the game,” the Australian coach told reporters.
“He’s such a creative player. It’s the last thing we needed, another injury. I’m so disappointed to lose him but we’re yet to see the extent of the injury.”
Creativity is something Tottenham need in the engine room but Hojbjerg did not register any key passes [Sofascore], despite Spurs chasing a goal for the whole second half – even more so after falling behind.
Hojbjerg does not even really justify a place in midfield based on his passing ability, as he registers outside the top 10 among Tottenham players for pass-success percentage (89.8) in the Premier League this season [WhoScored].
The former Southampton man ranks down in 17th place among Spurs players, meanwhile, when it comes to key passes per game (0.3).
This is not to say the 28-year-old cannot still play a part at Tottenham, but Postecoglou will surely bring Bissouma back into the side for the showdown with Man City.
Starting Lo Celso once again is risky, but Hojbjerg has not shown that he justifies a third Premier League start of the campaign, so Postecoglou’s hand has been forced somewhat.
What the future holds for Hojbjerg beyond this season is unclear, but he will need to improve on his display versus Villa if he is to have a chance of nailing down a place in the Spurs side.
In other Tottenham news, Paul Robinson says he would have happily paid double for one of Spurs’ summer signings.