Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is having quite the impact on Antonio Conte's Tottenham team this season. An ever-present in his first year in north London under Jose Mourinho, the Dane has continued to play a major role for Spurs ever since.
That hasn't stopped questions over the midfielder's place in the team cropping up amongst some of the Tottenham faithful, though. However, his importance to Conte can be seen by the fact that he has started every game this campaign for the Lilywhites despite the boss having Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp as options on the substitutes' bench to choose from.
Playing a big part in Tottenham's win at Brighton & Hove Albion last Saturday with a top-notch midfield display, the 27-year-old carried on from where he left off at the Amex when Eintracht Frankfurt visited north London on Wednesday evening.
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Crucial in the midfield battle alongside Rodrigo Bentancur as they caused problems for their German opponents with their pressing, determination and quality on the ball, Spurs looked worse off when the pair were on the sidelines getting a well-earned breather late on. Winning 3-2 on the night, Son Heung-min's emphatic volley not long before half-time proved crucial to the end result as Spurs moved top of Champions League Group D.
Hojbjerg was the architect as he picked out his teammate with a pinpoint cross. Picking up a loose ball outside the box, the ex-Southampton man drove into the area and breezed past his opponent before putting the ball on a plate for Son.
It was his third assist of the season from only 13 games, with his other two coming against Marseille and Leicester City. Add in his goals away at Chelsea and at home to Fulham, it has been quite the start to the campaign for the Dane when it comes to the final third.
Registering three goals and four assists in 2021/22, Hojbjerg provided two goals and five assists in his first season at the club. Extremely reliant on Son and Harry Kane in the past, Spurs need the numbers from other areas of the pitch if they are to challenge towards the top of the Premier League and also go far in the Champions League and domestic cup competitions.
The addition of Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison has certainly eased the burden on Son and Kane, with the team's wing-backs also chipping in due to their importance in the final third in Conte's system. The numbers coming from central midfield are also a major bonus to Conte and the team as well as this season has highlighted that Tottenham may not always be on song when it comes to their front three.
Hojbjerg has demonstrated in the past that he has an eye for a pass and can set up goals aplenty, notably when he assisted three times for Denmark on their run to the Euro 2020 semis. Proving his attacking quality on the international stage even back in the summer against France and Austria, the former Bayern Munich man is now showing all at Tottenham just what he can do in attack on a regular basis.
Conte will certainly be pleased to have addressed the issue of goals coming from elsewhere in his side and he will be keen for that trend to continue between now and May. Hojbjerg is on course to better his numbers from his previous two seasons at this rate but that will only happen if he continues to go from strength to strength under the Italian.
A player who may split the opinion of some Tottenham fans, nobody can deny the huge impact he is having on the pitch for the club right now.
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