Darren Bent has questioned whether reported Tottenham target Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is good enough to improve the club’s midfield.
Hojbjerg is believed to remain firmly on our radar ahead of the summer window after we flirted with the Southampton skipper in January, as Sky Sports details.
However, Bent told Football Insider in an exclusive interview that he has doubts over whether the 24-year-old would be a suitable signing, suggesting Spurs should be setting their sights higher.
Bent told Football Insider: “Listen, Hojbjerg’s a very good player, and he’s had a fantastic season at Southampton but you look at someone like him and go: ‘Is he going to make them better?’
“This is a team that’s got to be competing for Champions Leagues and trophies. If they get Hojbjerg and maybe lose Ndombele, does he make them that much better? Will he be a player other players look at and go: ‘I want to go and play with him?’ I’m not quite sure.
“When you look at Spurs, and I’m not disrespecting Hojbjerg one bit, he’s had a very, very good season, look at where Spurs have come from in the last eight years or whatever, you talk about Mousa Dembele, Scott Parker, Luka Modric, Wanyama – they’ve had so many very good midfielder players.
“All of sudden you think: ‘Hold on a second here, yes Hojbjerg’s a very good player but will he make them better where people go Spurs are really serious?’ I’m not so sure.”
The Denmark international may not be a glamorous addition but he could be exactly what we need to discover a balance in midfield, where Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso bring enough glamour between them. He is tenacious yet technical; simple yet effective.
Ignoring the favourable finances of this potential deal – Hojbjerg will soon enter the final year of his contract with the Saints – and I still think he’s a good fit.
Does Bent think Davies, Aurier, Tanganga, Sissoko and Winks draw players in from other clubs? Balance is needed to the squad and what better way of doing it than with a Premier League ready player, who I feel is an upgrade on Winks. Darren Fletcher did the donkey work for Utd. A good player who didn’t set the world alight but did the job asked of him. He won the lot at Utd. Bent should stick to Mastermind.
The thing is with Tanguy is he’s not going to sit and do the defensive, no fuss work. He’s better moving forward with the ball, playing forward defense splitting passes. Hoijberg will happily sit in front of the back four and do a job. he’s definitely better than anyone we have at the moment to do that job. His stats are quite impressive in fact.
My only doubt is whether we’ll be able to do a deal for him. I can’t see Levy paying anything but bargain prices this summer. Will Saints accept a low bid? I don’t think they will.