Not so long ago, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was almost the definition of an automatic pick in the Tottenham Hotspur starting XI. The Dane’s name etched permanently in Sharpie ink onto Jose Mourinho’s team sheet.
In fact, he didn’t miss a single minute of Premier League football throughout 2020/21. Spurs’ eternal ever-present. And while Hojbjerg did not repeat that particular trick last term, he came mighty close. Hojbjerg started 36 out of a potential 38 games under Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
It’s a testament to the excellent squad-building overseen by Conte and Fabio Paratici, then, that Hojbjerg’s status as a nailed-on starter appears to be coming under threat, two years after one of England’s most reliable defensive midfielders joined from Southampton.
If Conte is to continue with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation, then there’s no room for Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma, the belligerent, barnstorming Brighton talisman on his way to North London for a fee reported to be around £30 million.
And that’s without mentioning Oliver Skipp, a player Conte has taken a real shine too since taking over in the capital.
Tottenham agree Yves Bissouma deal with Brighton
It still feels somewhat unlikely that Tottenham would consider selling a player as important and influential as Hojbjerg, especially with Harry Winks likely to attract interest. Spurs will need all the depth they can get, with Champions League football back on the agenda.
Skipp’s injury problems throughout 2022 will also be a consideration.
“I think in every game he is doing a fantastic job,” Conte told Football London in April. “With the ball, without the ball, strong physically.”
But with Newcastle United big admirers of Hojbjerg – The Mirror said in May that the Magpies were ‘planning’ a £30 million swoop – Bissouma’s impending arrival should provide, at the very least, a glimmer of hope. The slightest of cracks in a doorway that, until now, appeared to have been slammed unceremoniously in Eddie Howe’s face. For all of Hojbjerg’s tenacity and leadership skills, he lacks the smooth, ball-playing skills of Bissouma, Bentancur or even Skipp. With central midfielders under Conte given more freedom to push forward than they were under Nuno and Mourinho, Hojbjerg could soon feel like something of an odd-one-out. The third man, in a two-man midfield. Not ideal, with a World Cup coming up.
Hojbjerg will likely remain important to Tottenham, even if – or when – Bissouma joins. Important, yes, but perhaps no longer irreplaceable.
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