On the latest episode of the Come on You Spurs podcast, host Dan Tracey was joined by fellow Lilywhites supporters Karl William, James McCarthy and @MikeCOYSpurs, as they discussed the latest goings-on at Tottenham Hotspur, with a focus on the transfer window and the recently-released All or Nothing documentary.
One topic of discussion on the most recent podcast, which was titled: ‘All Or Nothing‘, was Spurs’ signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton. The former Bayern Munich man joined the north London club earlier in the transfer window, signing a five-year contract with the Lilywhites (per BBC).
Here’s what McCarthy had to say about the signing of the Danish international and his performances in pre-season on the podcast:
“I was very excited about this one, it was the one that we all wanted to get over the line nice and quick, get him into the squad. We all thought he was going to take that starting XI jersey and start at the base of that midfield and that would then, in turn, free up our more creative players to go and attack and give us that little bit more stability defensively.
“Seeing him playing in the first few games – now I know they’ve only been pre-season friendlies – but it doesn’t appear to me like he’s actually playing that role that we all thought he would. It’s a little bit confusing, whether things might change. I’m hoping they do, because it all made perfect sense, bringing him in. He’s won the ball the most times in the midfield third in the Premier League, he’s been a captain at Southampton, he’s a strong leader, he’s vocal, he’s really that bit of rough that we need in midfield. Hopefully, that means that we can get the best out of [Giovani] Lo Celso and maybe even [Tanguy] Ndombele going forward.
“Seeing the way we’ve been playing in the pre-season friendlies, every time I’ve seen him play, he’s not been the furthest midfielder back. Whether that’s tactical, or whether that’s what he’s meant to do – I think even [Harry] Winks played further back than him in the game the other day – it’s a little bit worrying, because we thought we knew why he was coming into the club, but if it works, then it works and hopefully, it does mean that we can see a little bit more flair out of the other players.
“The deal itself makes sense, [Kyle] Walker-Peters was never going to really make it at the club, I don’t think, so him going that way makes perfect sense. It’s another vocal leader in the dressing room, so it can only be a good thing.”
TIF Thoughts…
McCarthy does seem concerned that Hojbjerg has been featuring further forward in some of the pre-season games, however that has proved to be effective in some cases, as can be seen with Heung-Min Son’s first goal against Ipswich Town in August, as the chance came about after Hojbjerg had won the ball pressing high up the pitch (per Tottenham Hotspur 3:12).
Where do you want Hojbjerg to play?
Further forward in midfield
Further back in midfield
It will be interesting to see if the 25-year-old makes his competitive debut for Spurs at the weekend against Everton in the Lilywhites’ opening game, and whereabouts he features in midfield should he play.