Ange Postecoglou may only have been at Tottenham Hotspur for a little over a year, but he has already completely overhauled the team, removing the established players in favor of assembling a dynamic, young squad in the city.
The Greek-Aussie has already let go of players like Hugo Lloris, Ivan Perisic, Harry Winks, Davison Sanchez, and Eric Dier in his very short tenure as manager. A few other supporting players, such Tanguy Ndombele and Sergio Reguilon, were also let go via loan exits.
When it comes to leaving his mark, the former Celtic manager is definitely not letting up, and more casualties are undoubtedly in store as he works to restore Spurs’ status as a legitimate contender at the top of the standings.
Ange Postecoglou, manager of Tottenham.
In order to finance future moves in the market, Postecoglou and chairman Daniel Levy will presumably need to decide this summer whether to cash in on some of their first-team assets. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is one player who may be headed this way.
The amount of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s purchase by Spurs
The Denmark international has been with the team for over four years after joining from Southampton for a meager £15 million in the summer of 2020. Former manager Jose Mourinho was thrilled with the acquisition and called Hojbjerg “a phenomenal player” once it was completed.
Midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of the Spurs.
Despite his smaller role this season, that investment has undoubtedly shown to be wise since then. In his first three seasons at the club, the 28-year-old started 109 of a possible 114 Premier League games.
A key member of the team until the end of the previous campaign, Postecoglou’s presence appeared to cause a stir because, according to reports from the summer, the team was considering bids for the seasoned midfield player.
albeit the £100k-per-week player has remained in place as part of Tottenham’s push for the Champions League, having now made 30 games in all competitions (albeit just eight of those came from the start), the same reports appeared to surface again in January.
For Tottenham, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg appears to be in despair.
Could the one-time Bayern Munich player finally leave this summer, as transfer guru Fabrizio Romano had suggested?
The current market worth of Hojbjerg
While it might make sense to keep Hojbjerg on board, the fact that he just has a little over a year left on his current contract should raise some red flags, especially in light of rumors that Levy and company won’t be making him an offer for a new contract.
Spurs may have to cash in sooner rather than later in order to maximize any potential profit, since they run the risk of losing a player who is presently valued at €30 million (£26 million) according to CIES Football Observatory for nothing in 2025.
Hojbjerg lost his starting position to Yves Bissouma, so he isn’t a regular in the team anymore, but other teams might think it wise to go with a player that resembles Declan Rice of Arsenal both statistically and stylistically, according to FBref.
Players Who Are Like Hojbjerg
1. Angelo Stiller
2. Declan Rice
3. Nemanja Matic
4-Emre Can
5. – Rongier, Valentin
6. Nabil Bentaleb
7 – Camavinga Eduardo
William Carvalho, eighth
Moises Caicedo, number nine
Pablo Barrios, number ten
through FBref
When it comes to their ability to play ball in front of the back four, the two defensive-minded midfielders are very similar. Hojbjerg is among his peers in the top 5% of European leagues for passes attempted and in the 9% range for progressive passes per 90. Rice, on the other hand, has shown comparable performance, appearing in the top 13% and top 6%, respectively, for those same two criteria.
In terms of defensive ability, the two are very similar; over the past 365 days, Hojbjerg has averaged 1.24 interceptions per 90, while his Gunners opponent has averaged just 1.60.
Given that Rice was a star after his £105 million summer transfer to the Emirates, where he was dubbed the “signing of the season” by commentator Danny Murphy, Spurs might be reluctant to let go of a player who could develop into their own version of the Englishman.
However, Spurs just cannot afford to let such a player go away, and with Hojbjerg’s contract about to expire, cashing in as much as possible this summer may be the smartest course of action.
