Tottenham U-turn advised over star not suited to Postecoglou style: ‘He has been one of the better players’
Tottenham have been told why they should look to keep a midfielder who looks certain to move on before the summer transfer window closes.
All of the focus on Spurs in recent times has been on whether talisman Harry Kane will move to Bayern Munich or look to see out the remainder of his contract in north London and leave on a free next summer.
That transfer saga looks like it might actually be coming to a close, with the German giants said to have finally agreed a deal in principle with Daniel Levy to sign the England skipper.
However, Kane is not the only Tottenham player expected to be offloaded in the closing weeks of the window, with several other first-team names tipped to leave.
One of those names is Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, despite the Dane being one of the club’s best performers over the last couple of seasons.
Spurs are expected to let the 28-year-old move on, if they can sign a suitable replacement, with Atletico Madrid very keen on striking a deal.
Levy is known to want a fee of around £25million for the former Southampton star, whose style of play does not really match up with what Postecoglou wants from his midfield ahead of the new campaign.
The Denmark international is currently under contract until 2025 and has made 145 appearances since joining from Saints in the summer of 2020.
But when asked whether his old club should look to keep Hojbjerg, Alan Hutton told Football Insider: “I think he has been one of the better players in recent seasons for Tottenham.
“There is a lot surrounding him at this moment in time about moving on.
“I think they have got decent depth in the middle of the pitch but Ange [Postecoglou] would maybe look to bring somebody in. I think defensively is more where the problems lie.
“I would like them to keep Hojbjerg and work out the defence.
“But if the player wants to leave Ange will not stand in his way and hopefully then they can get some money to reinvest into the squad.”
Bissouma impressing in Hojbjerg holding role
Postecoglou has at least done some work on his defence by bringing in Dutch centre-back Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg, while there have also been reports of Galatasaray’s Victor Nelsson or Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Taposoba also arriving.
But in terms of what the Australian wants from his midfield, Yves Bissouma has so far been outstanding in Hojbjerg’s role during pre-season.
The former Brighton midfielder was nowhere near his best in his first campaign in north London but has looked much more like the player who excelled on the south coast in his runouts prior to the season getting underway.
And with Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr also seemingly stepping up under Postecoglou and Rodrigo Bentancur now back in light training, it appears there might no longer be a place for Hojbjerg.
Tottenham open the new Premier League campaign with a trip to London rivals Brentford on Sunday.
