Tottenham Hotspur podcaster Richard Cracknell has been sharing his concerns over the current fitness levels of Lilywhites midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
This comes after Cracknell recently made an appearance on Spurs-themed podcast Last Word On Spurs where he reflected on the north London club’s recent 3-0 defeat against Manchester City in the Premier League.
On the subject of Hojbjerg, who started and played the entire game at the Etihad Stadium, Cracknell had this to say about the midfield man.
He said: “[Hojbjerg looks] knackered, absolutely knackered because he’s just run himself into the ground.
“It looked like at the start of the season, Hojbjerg might rub off on Spurs – that attitude might rub off on Spurs, and guess what? Spurs have now rubbed off on Hojbjerg, that’s where we are, but he’s knackered.”
Spurs signed Hojbjerg back in the previous summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Southampton for a fee of £14.94 million.
Since arriving at the north London club, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £27 million, has made 35 appearances for Jose Mourinho’s side across all competitions.
TIF Thoughts on Richard Cracknell’s comments on Hojbjerg being tired…
Given how Hojbjerg earned himself a fairly underwhelming match rating of 6.1/10 for his performance against City at the weekend, this shows that he didn’t cover himself in glory during the game and backs up why Cracknell thinks he looks off.
However, with Hojbjerg also playing the entire game at Goodison Park in midweek that saw Spurs crash out of the FA Cup in extra time in the 5-4 defeat, this could be a big reason why Cracknell thinks Hojbjerg looked tired in the game against City.
Do you think Hojbjerg needs to be rested?
Yes
No
In our view, it could be ideal if Hojbjerg were given a rest and not play in Spurs’ upcoming Europa League match in midweek so he can get recharge his batteries, especially if Mourinho insists on starting him once again in the Premier League next weekend, where he has played every minute so far.