Craig Burley has been critical of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and how he is apparently not suited to Ange Postecoglou’s football at Tottenham.
The former Chelsea player added that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who is yet to start a Premier League match this season, is someone who simply “goes past him”, as he told ESPN.
It’s a new look for Tottenham this season and a revamped midfield that is tearing teams apart even though they are still 1-0 down after 97 minutes. Paul Merson admitted Spurs after the win against Sheffield United.
James Maddison’s arrogance and attacking prowess has taken a midfield that previously lacked grip or talent to the next level.
Then two former struggling stars – Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr – are rejuvenated and playing like what was on the box when they were first purchased.
That leaves the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who started the EFL Cup defeat to Fulham, watching from the sidelines.
“I was never a big fan of Hojbjerg,” Burley said. “It’s not really me. I think he moves a lot. He passes it to the side and then plays with Skipp.
“I think the change in personnel, especially in midfield and the addition of Maddison, is just a huge difference.”
In the summer there was talk of the possibility of the Danish star heading for the exit door, but despite the noise he has remained where he is.
It has been claimed that the dressing room is a bit “awkward” for him and two other players.
Given that, barring injuries, Hojbjerg will remain on the bench for the foreseeable future.
Then it wouldn’t be surprising if the transfer window reopened in January and he left, because Postecoglou could also bring in a dynamic and more athletic midfielder, suited to the football he wants to play.
Tottenham Hotspur have been given a big push to sign Chelsea star Trevoh Chalobah as the Blues may be forced to sell the Englishman in January due to FFP rules, Football Insider reports.
After struggling with weak defense last season, Spurs decided to strengthen their backline by signing Micky van de Ven from VfL Wolfsburg in a £43 million deal in the recently concluded transfer window.
However, it looked like they were looking to sign a second defender this summer. Several players have been mentioned as serious targets, including Edmond Tapsoba and Lloyd Kelly.
It was also reported that Tottenham have opened talks with Bayer Leverkusen to sign Tapsoba, while they made a bid on deadline day to buy Kelly. But in the end, they failed to negotiate a deal for any of them.
After failing to buy their key targets, Tottenham reportedly made one last attempt to sign Chalobah, but also failed to complete a deal for him before the window abruptly closed.
It has now been suggested that Tottenham are considering signing a new defender in January as they realized they lack depth in that department and may look to reignite their interest in signing the Chelsea star.
According to Football Insider’s report, Chelsea want to sell Chalobah in January to comply with FFP regulations after Chelsea spent over £400 million this summer.
So it’s a big effort for Spurs to secure the Englishman’s signature.
However, the report states that signing Chalobah will not be easy for Tottenham as Bayern Munich had previously shown interest in signing him as Thomas Tuchel is a big fan of the defender, but they failed to secure his signature.
The Bavarian club, however, could choose to rekindle interest as early as January.
Chalobah is a versatile player as he can play both as a central defender and as a right back. He is fast, strong, good in the air, can play comfortably in defense and is also excellent in defensive interventions.
The 24-year-old therefore has the attributes needed to play in Ange Postecoglou’s system and would therefore be a smart signing for Tottenham should they choose to secure his signature.
However, it will be interesting to see whether Spurs decide to take a hands-on approach to signing Chalobah – valued at around £16 million by Transfermarkt – in the next transfer window.
