Player Watch: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

[cjbyid]

Atleti would be a great move for him & us too.

 

[WannaDanceWithUdogie]

I think 35m would be a fair fee

 

[Mr Pink]

I don't think anyone hates the guy.

Always such an over reaction just because some feel its definitely the right time to move him on.

He gave his all but certainly had some limitations that stagnated our play at times.

But he could be incisive and pick a cute pass, just not of high enough quality all round, week in week out, to be a regular in a top 4 side imo.

We should get a good fee for him and thats exactly why he should be near the top of the list to move on.

How people interpret that as hate is completely beyond me.

 

[Tonio]

I’d be stunned if someone was mug enough to stump up 35 million quid tbf tbf.

 

[dovahkiin]

35? i was thinking 15

 

[kremlyn]

I don't think anyone hates the guy.

Always such an over reaction just because some feel its definitely the right time to move him on.

He gave his all but certainly had some limitations that stagnated our play at times.

But he could be incisive and pick a cute pass, just not of high enough quality all round, week in week out, to be a regular in a top 4 side imo.

We should get a good fee for him and thats exactly why he should be near the top of the list to move on.

How people interpret that as hate is completely beyond me.

The irony of the next post

 

[djhotspur]

35? i was thinking 15

That’s too low imo.

 

[Timberwolf]

Think from a club like Atletico that's not shy of spending it's reasonable to expect around 25. Maybe rising to 30-35 with add-ons?

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

Recency bias is in full flight in this thread. If you look back he was in many fans top 3 for player of the first half of the season before the world cup break. Everyone was hailing his partnership with Bentancur as a reason we were in the mix for the top 4.

Has an average second half of the season after being absolutely flogged to death, playing every minute, of every match. And all of sudden we'll be lucky to get 15m for him

He's not my preferred style of midfielder but he's good at what he does. Athletico don't usually pay money for mugs,.

 

[crippsy25]

I must be watching a different bloke than half the people in here, peh would be great in a midfield higher up in a 4-3-3 wouldn't suprise me if Liverpool came in for him if we are ready to chuck him out.
His best assest is his engine and ability to press high and win the ball back high up the pitch, he is a good enough player to know what his limitations are and give the ball to the real ball players. It's why Liverpool fell of last season as the midfield was either old or injured and didn't win the ball back, leaving the full backs exposed.
Peh may not be Glenn hoddle but he does have a good skill set for a 3 man midfield (poor in a 2 as he can be like a dog chasing a ball)

 

[h2005]

Best of luck to him if he's off. £35 million is a great price.

 

[spursfan77]

Much like Trippier before him, I think our fans have shockingly undervalued his contribution to the team since he’s been here. He also seems to be the target of a lot of unwarranted stick like Trippier.

Like Trips I think he’ll go to Atletico and absolute smash it there, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him come back to a premier league club in a few years time too.

I do think he likely won’t suit the new manager’s style and tactics though, so unlike when we sold Trips (which I thought was a huge mistake) I think this is a great move for all concerned. We get a nice bit of bunce, he gets to move to a big club, and they get a good player that suits their style.

Everyone’s a winner.

I’ll caveat this with the fact I didnt want Us to sign him in the first place. I thought he was a bog standard average PL midfielder. While that’s no bad thing, I just didn’t think he was good enough for us. He started off proving me right. But he did well under Conte at times and had some very good games while the team was on form. Like lots of midfielders nowadays I think he is best in a three to hide his inadequacies and play to his strengths. He scored some good goals earlier in the season for example.

Unlike Trippier who was injured and played through that without the fans being aware. Had the fanbase known that I think they would have been more forgiving. So on the giving players a hard time front I don’t think they are that comparable.

I like Hojbjerg but understand the criticisms of his limitations. It’s the right time to sell him and get a good fee. Too many times in the past have we been criticised for not selling players and recycling them and this is just the perfect moment to move him on. I reckon we will get a good fee for him too. Somewhere up to £30 million. He’s got a lot to offer some teams. Somewhere like west ham would possibly be a good move for him with that Rice money soon to be burning a hole in their pockets.

 

[djhotspur]

I’ll caveat this with the fact I didnt want Us to sign him in the first place. I thought he was a bog standard average PL midfielder. While that’s no bad thing, I just didn’t think he was good enough for us. He started off proving me right. But he did well under Conte at times and had some very good games while the team was on form. Like lots of midfielders nowadays I think he is best in a three to hide his inadequacies and play to his strengths. He scored some good goals earlier in the season for example.

Unlike Trippier who was injured and played through that without the fans being aware. Had the fanbase known that I think they would have been more forgiving. So on the giving players a hard time front I don’t think they are that comparable.

I like Hojbjerg but understand the criticisms of his limitations. It’s the right time to sell him and get a good fee. Too many times in the past have we been criticised for not selling players and recycling them and this is just the perfect moment to move him on. I reckon we will get a good fee for him too. Somewhere up to £30 million. He’s got a lot to offer some teams. Somewhere like west ham would possibly be a good move for him with that Rice money soon to be burning a hole in their pockets.

I like him and agree with all you’ve said.

would any other top 4 team have him as a starting cm… look at the quality of the midfields we are competing against.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Normally agree with most of your opinions, but to say Lavia is pretty poor defensively is miles off the mark in my opinion.

If we sign him then I would be absolutely gobsmacked if it's to play anywhere other than the 6 role.

For one thing, his shooting is probably his biggest weak point and is quite dreadful currently, so there's no way he could play as one of Ange's 8's.

But you have to remember that he started the season as an 18 year old making his first foray into senior football in the toughest most physical league in the world. Despite this he still put up great defensive stats and despite his youth making him a bit rash in the tackle at times, he showed experience beyond his years in his positioning which is shown by his high interception rate.

To couple with this, he also has elite physical traits where he's very agile but more importantly has great balance and a stockiness that you wouldn't expect in someone his age. This obviously is key in his dribbling ability, as he looks for contact and drives through the tackles, but defensively it's important as he's able to compete for headers very well despite being 5'11. This is shown as his headers won % is very high, but I'll concede that he needs to contest for more headers if he's to play as a lone 6.

I genuinely reckon I might have seen every minute that Lavia played last season when Southampton were on TV as I was so impressed when watching his debut against us in the first game of the season. Lavia could definitely play in the double pivot of a 4-2-3-1, but I think long term as he develops it will be as a lone 6 that he will really strive and could be one of the best around.

I personally find him far to rash in the tackle and his position can often be off. In general his tendency to go to ground can often leave the back line exposed. Also whilst he seems to have a solid success rate with headers as you mention he really barely challenges for them, he's certainly not a dominant figure in the air. If you look at the best DM's in the league and especially those who play in the in attacking systems they are all big physical players defensively both on the ground and in the air. Whilst obviously its unfair to compare a 19 year old to any established player im still skeptical even with time he will ever develop those skills to an elite level. Furthermore his first touch when on the half turn is also pretty shaky and will often leave him scrambling to get bull under control. Yes that will very likely improve with age but still. Granted when he has it he's very difficult to disposes but that first touch can again put the team under unnecessary pressure.

I have no doubt that he is a fantastic prospect, I think everyone who's seen him agrees on that, but i agree with what @C0YS says above. With proper coaching and game time he could become a very good dm in a few years, who knows maybe even a world class one, as you mention his shooting from distance is incredibly poor and his long balls are excellent which makes one think it's his natural position. Indeed he has also played as a DM all though his youth career. But whilst obviously at his age one is going to be raw no matter where you play I still find the defensive side to his game to be currently too big of a weakness for a team looking to challange for top 4. Also when looking at our line up, with Porro and Udogie as the likely full backs i think, even if its not necessarily what Angie usually works with, we will need a strong defensive presence with excellent anticipation in the dm role if we don't want to get completely constantly overrun. As big a prospect as Lavia is, for a DM he certainly excels most in possession rather then out of it.

In general I find him somewhat of an anomaly when looking at his skill set which obviously on the one hand makes him a unique talent but on the other means whoever signs him will be required to have a clear vision of how to develop and utilise him. If we had a more defensive minded back line I'd be a lot more keen to try him as a DM and maybe if Royal stepped in for Porro it would be less risky, but for now I feel it would be a big risk. Ether way I would be gobsmacked if he came here considering he's been heavily linked to the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

 

[Timberwolf]

I like him and agree with all you’ve said.

would any other top 4 team have him as a starting cm… look at the quality of the midfields we are competing against.

Yeah I think this is the thing. We're now in an age where almost all the top teams in Europe play an attractive, progressive style of football and it's essential to have technical players in the centre of the park who are agile, good on the turn, confident with the ball under pressure, etc.

Beyond a rumoured interest from Bayern that hasn't materialised into an offer, the clubs that have been interested in PEH over the past few years are Jose's Spurs, mid-table Everton and now Atletico: all very pragmatic, defensive teams.

He's a good player with a lot going for him but if we aspire to play on the front foot under Ange, PEH isn't the type of midfielder we need. Certainly not if he expects to start most games, anyway.

 

[SpursSince1980]

I think moving him on is more of a pragmatic decision, as opposed to whether or not he fits the system. Bottom line> he is nearly 28, has 2 yrs left on his contract, is well regarded in the PL and Europe.

Do I think he is an ‘untouchable’ player in terms of importance? No.
He is a depreciating asset we can get 25-30m for. With a fair few teams who would be interested. A year from now that fee drops by half.

So, do it now, and secure a replacement if required.

 

[markt]

I understand why he may not suit Ange's style, plus if we let him go I would assume we would get good money for a guy who has been regular first team player in top 8 of premier league past few years.

However, I can't help but think people are forgetting how good that partnership he had with Bentancur was. Also I think him and Skipp were completely the wrong pairing together. Both useful players, but have similar limitations. So of course both looked worse playing together in the midfield 2.

 

[markt]

I think moving him on is more of a pragmatic decision, as opposed to whether or not he fits the system. Bottom line> he is nearly 28, has 2 yrs left on his contract, is well regarded in the PL and Europe.

Do I think he is an ‘untouchable’ player in terms of importance? No.
He is a depreciating asset we can get 25-30m for. With a fair few teams who would be interested. A year from now that fee drops by half.

So, do it now, and secure a replacement if required.

We don't do this enough, get good money for good players that we can improve upon. We seem to let them depreciate, then get stuck with a bloated squad.

 

[dtxspurs]

Recency bias is in full flight in this thread. If you look back he was in many fans top 3 for player of the first half of the season before the world cup break. Everyone was hailing his partnership with Bentancur as a reason we were in the mix for the top 4.

Has an average second half of the season after being absolutely flogged to death, playing every minute, of every match. And all of sudden we'll be lucky to get 15m for him

He's not my preferred style of midfielder but he's good at what he does. Athletico don't usually pay money for mugs,.

I think we also played a horrible formation/style to fit his strenghts.

No pressing, only 2 in midfield when he's not the quickest. He isn't able to dribble which hurts in a 2 man midfield.

I think he's a good player in a 3 man midfield in a team that presses so I actually think he'd be a great fit for Ange.

 

[KILLA_SIN]

We don't do this enough, get good money for good players that we can improve upon. We seem to let them depreciate, then get stuck with a bloated squad.

When we got big enough to turn the Uniteds of the world away, we kept hold of Dier who we could have got £60M for, Or sold Dele to PSG. Feels as though losing the selling club tag, has cost us in selling players at their prime who fell away pretty rapidly. Need a Coutinho sale every now and again