Former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton believes that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s acquisition will help solve a problem area in the Spurs squad that has been troubling Jose Mourinho.
After heavily speculation which ran on for a number of months (Sky Sports), Tottenham finally confirmed on Tuesday that Hojbjerg has penned a five-year contract with the club.
Hojbjerg’s capture potentially opens up a lot of tactical possibilities for the Tottenham boss in midfield next season, given the defensive awareness that the 25-year-old possesses.
Some Spurs fans expect that the Denmark international could free up the likes of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso and help bring the best out of the duo next season.
However, Hutton believes that Hojbjerg will be used by Mourinho as one of the two double pivots alongside Moussa Sissoko.
The pundit picked Harry Winks as the one to lose his place in the Spurs starting line up as a result of the Dane’s arrival.
Speaking about Tottenham’s acquisition of Hojbjerg, Hutton told Football Insider: “He’s more of a defensive midfielder in my opinion. If Mourinho plays a 4-2-3-1, he’ll be one of the two.
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“I think that would be where he goes in. If you look over all the games, Mourinho used to change it, whether it be Sissoko and Winks or it could have been Ndombele, Lo Celso, it just seemed he wasn’t happy in that area.
“I think it will be Sissoko and one other which could be Hojbjerg – he kind of sits in that General role – as in, he is the General of the team – so he fits into that hole that they’re looking for, that solid base.
“It just seemed to be a position that Mourinho was tinkering with a lot, he didn’t seem to be 100 per cent on it. They’ve been chasing him a long time so he’s high up on the target list.”
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I also expect Hojbjerg two predominantly be used as one of two midfield pivots but I think it will be Winks who he will be paired with him rather than Sissoko. Mourinho has already admitted that centre-midfield is not Sissoko’s best position and I believe he is only continuing to play the Frenchman there due to the lack of physical presence we have in the middle of the park.
Hojbjerg will not only provide that physical presence but he is also much better at cutting out potential danger than any of other midfielders. He will make us defensively more solid and could even be paired with Giovani Lo Celso in central midfield if we are playing against a side that sits back with a low-block.
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