The match hadn’t even ended at Goodison Park on Thursday evening when news of Everton’s bid for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg emerged.
By the time referee Anthony Taylor blew the final whistle on yet another underwhelming home performance, more details had surfaced.
Carlo Ancelotti was intent on wasting no time in his pursuit of Southampton’s highly sought-after Danish international midfielder. A bid for his services, believed to be in the region of £14 million, had been lodged.
Review the previous 90-plus minutes, or any of Everton’s past three games for that matter, and it’s not difficult to see why. Another game in which Ancelotti’s central midfielders failed to complete a tackle between them simply highlighted, once again, the need for summer reinforcements in the problem position.
Everton’s need for fresh blood in the engine room has been evident for some time. Marco Silva was already drawing up plans to strengthen there before his sacking in December, while his successor Ancelotti has also repeatedly stressed his desire to add more “energy” to his midfield since joining the club.
To an extent, both managers have been unlucky with injuries. The summer departure of the tireless defensive midfielder Idrissa Gueye to Paris Saint-Germain was a blow, but it was meant to be offset by the arrivals of Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph.
Everton knew they could not replace Gueye like-for-like, instead choosing to go down a different, altogether more holistic route. Injuries, though, have restricted the duo to a combined 15 Premier League starts this season. Particularly since the restart, their absence has left Ancelotti’s midfield short of depth and quality.
With Gbamin still some way off full fitness, central midfield has become a priority for the upcoming window. Everton have been linked with a host of options, from Allan at Napoli to Ibrahim Sangare at Toulouse. It would be a surprise if the latter, in particular, arrived at Goodison. On top of the “energy” that Ancelotti so craves, they want an all-rounder capable of breaking up play and starting attacks. Sangare, while possessing some of those qualities, is considered by well-placed sources to have some gaps in his game technically.
Marcel Brands’ remit, although not exclusively it must be said, has been to reduce the age of the squad, trim it where possible and recruit players on the up. The decision-makers at Everton accept that they will have to be prudent as they look to keep on the right side of the FFP regulations.
Hojbjerg, until recently Southampton’s captain, fits in with the Everton director of football’s overall vision, is just 24, and, with one year left on his deal (he is not expected to sign a new one), is unlikely to command a sky-high fee. Ancelotti has been a long-term admirer, pushing his name internally as a possible target.
Everton tentatively looked at the Dane in January and have taken their interest a step further in recent weeks. Hojbjerg would bring elements to the table that Ancelotti’s midfield has lacked in recent weeks.
While Andre Gomes and Tom Davies failed to complete a tackle against Aston Villa, the absence of midfield brawn was even starker against Tottenham, when three of Everton’s four starting midfielders (Gomes, Alex Iwobi and Gylfi Sigurdsson) did not muster a single successful tackle between them.
Speaking after the Villa game, Ancelotti also bemoaned a general lack of quality in possession. “We have to be more efficient, keep the ball, play with more creativity,” he said. “We forced a lot of passes when we could play more easily. We have to try to play better, with more quality.”
Hojbjerg has his admirers among data scouts at certain Champions League clubs. He is described by one such figure to The Athletic as an “all-rounder” made even more attractive as a proposition by his grounding with Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and his current contractual status.
What is most apparent when looking at Hojbjerg from a statistical standing is the extent to which he excels in many different facets. Compare his data wheel (graphic 1) to those of Davies (graphic 2), Delph (graphic 3) and Gomes (graphic 4) below and you can see he offers more solidity in defence and a composed presence in possession. It is also apparent why Everton have honed in on him as a potentially stabilising presence.
The data, compiled by Smarterscout, is accurate up to last weekend. All the stats are adjusted for the position in which the player is usually deployed (in this case, central midfield). The higher the number out of 100, the better he is in this area comparative to his peers.
Scores of 97 and 90 respectively for ball recovery and interceptions and tackling offer a marked improvement on the three current Everton midfielders — Delph scores 37 and 32, Davies 19 and 5, Gomes 9 and 4. Hojbjerg also ranks highly (84) for disrupting opposition moves (through tackling or fouling). On average, he regains the ball about nine times a match.
In possession, Hojbjerg’s xG from ball progression (77) — defined as how much the player’s actions on the ball increase the likelihood of his side scoring — is comfortably the highest of the quartet (Davies is closest with 72) and is an important part of the picture given Ancelotti’s desire to see his team play with more verticality and incision.
Those that have followed Hojbjerg’s progress at Southampton speak in positive terms of his positional intelligence, honed in part under Pep Guardiola at Bayern.
Often he has been head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl’s “manager on the pitch”, reminding team-mates of their instructions and leading by example. He is said to be smart and intelligent, a good presence in the dressing room, and has retained the trust of his manager despite the contract impasse.
His short passing is good, but he is not likely to rack up assists or goals — indeed, he is yet to score in 37 appearances this season and has developed a reputation for speculative shots from the edge of the box. They are some of the same gaps in Hojbjerg’s game that saw him struggle to find regular games at Bayern, finding himself behind the considerable talents of Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thiago in the pecking order.
While he was still a relative rookie during his time in Germany, a feeling remains from those close to the Bundesliga club that he was not quite good enough to play at that level.
Hojbjerg’s skillset has, though, piqued the interest of Ancelotti and Brands at Everton and he would be a solid presence that would improve the midfield markedly.
According to one European scout, Hojbjerg fits well in a variety of different systems and would suit Ancelotti’s favoured 4-4-2. At Southampton, he also plays in a central pair.
Everton have been decisive in making a formal approach to Southampton, with Ancelotti keen to get his business in a key area done early ahead of a short pre-season. But that does not mean the Italian will get what he wants.
The Athletic understands that Tottenham are frontrunners for Hojbjerg’s signature and that the player’s preference is to join the Londoners. Ajax have expressed tentative interest.
Hojbjerg is believed to want Champions League football next season, and while that won’t happen at Tottenham he is said to believe it is most likely to happen there sooner rather than later.
It leaves Everton with an uphill task to convince him to move to a club that are not guaranteed to finish above Southampton, where he has been happy but will not sign a new contract because of his burning desire for success.
It may not be Hojbjerg, but it is clear that a player of his ilk is what Ancelotti wants before anything else this summer.
And if the Everton manager’s star name is not enough to lure the 24-year-old to Merseyside, Ancelotti will waste no time finding an alternative.
He’s seen enough of Everton’s current midfield. The time to do something about it has arrived.
Versatile at what exactly?
Good squad player, definitely. Versatile and can be in the 20 for sure(given that it seems likely the prem will extend the 5 sub rule). But lets be honest, he served his purpose and done well. But if we can get anything for him, its well worth exploring.
Allowing 5 subs is a dreadful idea. Dreadful,for the little clubs and the clubs who have been promoted.
You can acknowledge that and still recognise that Sissoko simply shouldn’t be a regularly starting midfielder for any club seriously trying to go for the top 4.
It really depends how you are assessing him. On the ball I would agree Sissoko is not the most dynamic and he's not the player you're expecting to drill a defence-splitting through-ball. However off-the-ball the guy is relentless, he is charging around for 90+mins every game to close space, make tackles and support Aurier. Given we are now not playing a possession-based game and in our game against Leicester yesterday we only had 29% possession yet came away with a clean sheet, is it not worth appreciating what Sissoko gives to the team on that basis?
The problem with that is, by conceding possession and playing on the counter attack, we are relying on our players to make the most of our time with the ball with quick and accurate passing. When we're launching a dangerous looking counter attack, but Sissoko is the player driving forward with the ball, it's a near certainty that he'll make the wrong choice or play a poor pass and completely waste the attack.
The match hadn’t even ended at Goodison Park on Thursday evening when news of Everton’s bid for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg emerged.
By the time referee Anthony Taylor blew the final whistle on yet another underwhelming home performance, more details had surfaced.
Carlo Ancelotti was intent on wasting no time in his pursuit of Southampton’s highly sought-after Danish international midfielder. A bid for his services, believed to be in the region of £14 million, had been lodged.
Review the previous 90-plus minutes, or any of Everton’s past three games for that matter, and it’s not difficult to see why. Another game in which Ancelotti’s central midfielders failed to complete a tackle between them simply highlighted, once again, the need for summer reinforcements in the problem position.
Everton’s need for fresh blood in the engine room has been evident for some time. Marco Silva was already drawing up plans to strengthen there before his sacking in December, while his successor Ancelotti has also repeatedly stressed his desire to add more “energy” to his midfield since joining the club.
To an extent, both managers have been unlucky with injuries. The summer departure of the tireless defensive midfielder Idrissa Gueye to Paris Saint-Germain was a blow, but it was meant to be offset by the arrivals of Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph.
Everton knew they could not replace Gueye like-for-like, instead choosing to go down a different, altogether more holistic route. Injuries, though, have restricted the duo to a combined 15 Premier League starts this season. Particularly since the restart, their absence has left Ancelotti’s midfield short of depth and quality.
With Gbamin still some way off full fitness, central midfield has become a priority for the upcoming window. Everton have been linked with a host of options, from Allan at Napoli to Ibrahim Sangare at Toulouse. It would be a surprise if the latter, in particular, arrived at Goodison. On top of the “energy” that Ancelotti so craves, they want an all-rounder capable of breaking up play and starting attacks. Sangare, while possessing some of those qualities, is considered by well-placed sources to have some gaps in his game technically.
Marcel Brands’ remit, although not exclusively it must be said, has been to reduce the age of the squad, trim it where possible and recruit players on the up. The decision-makers at Everton accept that they will have to be prudent as they look to keep on the right side of the FFP regulations.
Hojbjerg, until recently Southampton’s captain, fits in with the Everton director of football’s overall vision, is just 24, and, with one year left on his deal (he is not expected to sign a new one), is unlikely to command a sky-high fee. Ancelotti has been a long-term admirer, pushing his name internally as a possible target.
Everton tentatively looked at the Dane in January and have taken their interest a step further in recent weeks. Hojbjerg would bring elements to the table that Ancelotti’s midfield has lacked in recent weeks.
While Andre Gomes and Tom Davies failed to complete a tackle against Aston Villa, the absence of midfield brawn was even starker against Tottenham, when three of Everton’s four starting midfielders (Gomes, Alex Iwobi and Gylfi Sigurdsson) did not muster a single successful tackle between them.
Speaking after the Villa game, Ancelotti also bemoaned a general lack of quality in possession. “We have to be more efficient, keep the ball, play with more creativity,” he said. “We forced a lot of passes when we could play more easily. We have to try to play better, with more quality.”
Hojbjerg has his admirers among data scouts at certain Champions League clubs. He is described by one such figure to The Athletic as an “all-rounder” made even more attractive as a proposition by his grounding with Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and his current contractual status.
What is most apparent when looking at Hojbjerg from a statistical standing is the extent to which he excels in many different facets. Compare his data wheel (graphic 1) to those of Davies (graphic 2), Delph (graphic 3) and Gomes (graphic 4) below and you can see he offers more solidity in defence and a composed presence in possession. It is also apparent why Everton have honed in on him as a potentially stabilising presence.
The data, compiled by Smarterscout, is accurate up to last weekend. All the stats are adjusted for the position in which the player is usually deployed (in this case, central midfield). The higher the number out of 100, the better he is in this area comparative to his peers.
Scores of 97 and 90 respectively for ball recovery and interceptions and tackling offer a marked improvement on the three current Everton midfielders — Delph scores 37 and 32, Davies 19 and 5, Gomes 9 and 4. Hojbjerg also ranks highly (84) for disrupting opposition moves (through tackling or fouling). On average, he regains the ball about nine times a match.
In possession, Hojbjerg’s xG from ball progression (77) — defined as how much the player’s actions on the ball increase the likelihood of his side scoring — is comfortably the highest of the quartet (Davies is closest with 72) and is an important part of the picture given Ancelotti’s desire to see his team play with more verticality and incision.
Those that have followed Hojbjerg’s progress at Southampton speak in positive terms of his positional intelligence, honed in part under Pep Guardiola at Bayern.
Often he has been head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl’s “manager on the pitch”, reminding team-mates of their instructions and leading by example. He is said to be smart and intelligent, a good presence in the dressing room, and has retained the trust of his manager despite the contract impasse.
His short passing is good, but he is not likely to rack up assists or goals — indeed, he is yet to score in 37 appearances this season and has developed a reputation for speculative shots from the edge of the box. They are some of the same gaps in Hojbjerg’s game that saw him struggle to find regular games at Bayern, finding himself behind the considerable talents of Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thiago in the pecking order.
While he was still a relative rookie during his time in Germany, a feeling remains from those close to the Bundesliga club that he was not quite good enough to play at that level.
Hojbjerg’s skillset has, though, piqued the interest of Ancelotti and Brands at Everton and he would be a solid presence that would improve the midfield markedly.
According to one European scout, Hojbjerg fits well in a variety of different systems and would suit Ancelotti’s favoured 4-4-2. At Southampton, he also plays in a central pair.
Everton have been decisive in making a formal approach to Southampton, with Ancelotti keen to get his business in a key area done early ahead of a short pre-season. But that does not mean the Italian will get what he wants.
The Athletic understands that Tottenham are frontrunners for Hojbjerg’s signature and that the player’s preference is to join the Londoners. Ajax have expressed tentative interest.
Hojbjerg is believed to want Champions League football next season, and while that won’t happen at Tottenham he is said to believe it is most likely to happen there sooner rather than later.
It leaves Everton with an uphill task to convince him to move to a club that are not guaranteed to finish above Southampton, where he has been happy but will not sign a new contract because of his burning desire for success.
It may not be Hojbjerg, but it is clear that a player of his ilk is what Ancelotti wants before anything else this summer.
And if the Everton manager’s star name is not enough to lure the 24-year-old to Merseyside, Ancelotti will waste no time finding an alternative.
He’s seen enough of Everton’s current midfield. The time to do something about it has arrived.
