James Maw believes Tottenham players were trying to avoid passing the ball to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Hojbjerg has fallen down the pecking order under Ange Postecoglou who has not been impressed enough by the Dane.
Ange’s first choice midfielders are Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr.
However, Bissouma’s suspension against Luton gave Hojbjerg a rare opportunity to start against Fulham.
And the experienced midfielder had an ‘outstanding’ game. He deputised well in Bissouma’s absence and was defensively solid.
But Maw noticed at times that some of his Spurs teammates were avoiding passing him the ball.
Speaking about the 28-year-old, he said:
“Yeah, there were a couple of moments when you could see the centre-backs looking to play out and then realise it was [Pierre-Emile] Hojberg and then kind of reshape and then play a slightly different pass.
“But yeah, he was incredibly good and I think it sends a kind of message to those other fringe players that you may not play a game for or start a game for however many weeks but you will get an opportunity eventually and it is possible to play very well.”
Hojbjerg has been linked with a move away in January due to his lack of playing time. The likes of Juventus and Atletico Madrid are showing a keen interest in signing him.
That being said, Spurs may not allow him to leave because not only are they short of options in midfield, Bissouma and Sarr are expected to miss upto 6 weeks of football due to the upcoming AFCON.
Hojbjerg has proven to be a reliable presence in the midfield and Spurs could do with him being an available option.