Opinion: £35M Rated Defensive Midfielder Isn’t Glamorous, But He Could Be What Spurs Have Been Missing

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is not a name that is going to be sung from the terraces. Not least because…well, try finding a tune to sing it to.

But what the dogged midfielder – identified as a somewhat surprising Tottenham target today by Sky Sports – lacks in glamour, he makes up for in a combination of assets badly lacking in the current Spurs team.

Character: the Dane is skipper at Southampton and has helped inspire their rise from the dead after October’s 9-0 thrashing by Leicester City.

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Defensive awareness: £35M rated Hojbjerg averages 2.5 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game in the Premier League this season. In comparison, the two holding options Jose Mourinho currently chooses between – Harry Winks and Eric Dier – average 1.4 and 0.9 tackles, and 1.1 and 1 interceptions respectively.

But Winks and Dier aren’t having good seasons?

Fair enough. Our last great defensive midfield season was that of Victor Wanyama in 2016-17. He averaged 2.5 tackles and 1.1 interceptions in the Premier League that year, numbers which Hojbjerg at least matches.

The 24-year-old also has attractive qualities for Daniel Levy – resale value and a contract which expires in 2021, according to transfermarkt.com.

And Adam Blackmore of BBC Radio Solent understands that Hojbjerg has had a contract offer on the table for some time and is yet to commit.

We badly need a defensive midfielder of Wanyama 2016-17 standard to complement a potentially exciting pairing of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso just ahead of him. Could the answer again lie at St Mary’s?