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The Transfer Wishlist Thread

MattPhilpott

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2013
844
3,176
What do we think to the Pierre-Emile Højbjerg links? He responded to the rumour in an interview recently:

“It would be a lie to say I hadn’t read it. It’s a big club and I also think Christian Eriksen has positive memories from there."

“Whatever happens in the future, you have to take it as it comes.”


Personally, I think it would be a sensible, positive, if not unspectacular signing. He’s 24 at the moment which is a great age for a step up, along with having around 3 years experience in the premier league which is a vastly underrated asset imo. Comes from the Bayern academy too so a good footballing education as a youngster.

I personally rate him, think he understands the defensive roles of midfield very well, and breaks down play, without doing anything super flashy, and can move the ball well too!

I would be down for this, and seems like a transfer that is sensible and makes sense. With KWP going the other way, we can hopefully shave 7-10m off of the price, so I don’t think it would come to much over 25-30m, considering the climate of the transfer market.

All open to suggestions, but I think Højbjerg would be a smart buy...


Some more comments from Højbjerg recently regarding a move from Southampton...

"I know what I want, the club knows it too. I want to play at an even higher level than I am currently."

"I'm not saying goodbye and I'm focused on my club, but my goal is very clear: I want to win the Premier League & the Champions League."

Some more fuel to the fire here...said it before, I think it is a really good, realistic option for our DM option!


I think Partey is probably the more desirable option, but will definitely have a lot of competition for his signature! Højbjerg though I think definitely makes a lot of sense and would be a signing that I think makes us a much better side!
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
Some more comments from Højbjerg recently regarding a move from Southampton...

"I know what I want, the club knows it too. I want to play at an even higher level than I am currently."

"I'm not saying goodbye and I'm focused on my club, but my goal is very clear: I want to win the Premier League & the Champions League."

Some more fuel to the fire here...said it before, I think it is a really good, realistic option for our DM option!


I think Partey is probably the more desirable option, but will definitely have a lot of competition for his signature! Højbjerg though I think definitely makes a lot of sense and would be a signing that I think makes us a much better side!

We need a DM destroyer though really. He isn't one of those.
 

TEESSIDE1

Married, new job and Spurs on the up!
Jul 3, 2006
15,089
18,780
We need a DM destroyer though really. He isn't one of those.

He’s not but he’s better than Winks and Sissoko.

Lo Celso, Ndombele, Fernandes, Gerson/Soumare, Hojbjerg

is way better than:

Lo Celso, Ndombele, Fernandes, Winks, Sissoko
 
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Univarn

Lost. Probably Not Worth Finding.
Jul 20, 2017
2,864
15,279
For funsies. Take with large amounts of salt :).

https://soccerlink.fr/2020/05/14/ch...propose-des-joueurs-a-jose-mourinho-4636.html

LUIS CAMPOS PROPOSES PLAYERS TO JOSÉ MOURINHO.

Eager to sell this summer, Luis Campos uses his good relations with José Mourinho to offer him players.


We are able to assure you that the Lille sports director spoke with José Mourinho by proposing to him Mike Maignan , French international for a year, Boubakary Soumaré , coveted by many other prestigious clubs as well as Victor Osimhen , versatile and promising striker Nigerien.

The sports director also used his media relations to leak information that an English club had offered a sum of 80M € for his attacker, false information which aims to move clubs like Chelsea and Tottenham looking for a leading attacker in the market.

The sports director has already used this technique to sell Nicolas Pépé , for almost 80M € bonus included at Arsenal last year…
 

carpediem991

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2011
8,836
20,308
He’s not but he’s better than Winks and Sissoko.

Lo Celso, Ndombele, Fernandes, Gerson/Soumare, Hojberg

is way better than:

Lo Celso, Ndombele, Fernandes, Winks, Sissoko

Winksy is one of our own. Not quite starting player but fine enough squad player who has his good days.
Would swap Sissoko for a CM with more to his game anytime though.
 

Cochise

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2019
4,763
12,519
You gotta laugh at the talks of swapping Danny Rose to an Italian club. The shit black footballers get out there is well known, Danny would laugh at any offer.
 

MattPhilpott

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2013
844
3,176
We need a DM destroyer though really. He isn't one of those.

In my opinion, I disagree...but here’s why...

The way football is played now, I really think the “DM Destroyer” style of player has really died out of the game. The pace of the game makes it hard for destroyers to smash players up because the play is simply too fast.

The best DM’s in the Europe...Kante, N’didi, Busquets, Kimmich, Partey, Verrati etc...these are not players known for bone crunching tackles, their skill lies in their ability to read possession and intercept the ball, rather than dispossess them through a tackle.

Even Matic, for a player of his height, doesn’t go around mashing attackers like Keane, and Viera and co used to, because football was slower then...

Hjøjberg is a mobile, combative DM who can shuffle the lines and break play up, but then have the intelligence to play a pass and join in going forward.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a cruncher from Dier as much as the next guy, but look how much the game passes him by, we need quick ball players who can cause that transition from defence to attack to happen at speed!

Hope you appreciate my post bud, open to comments!
 

Ben1

Well-Known Member
Jun 22, 2015
2,130
8,411
In my opinion, I disagree...but here’s why...

The way football is played now, I really think the “DM Destroyer” style of player has really died out of the game. The pace of the game makes it hard for destroyers to smash players up because the play is simply too fast.

The best DM’s in the Europe...Kante, N’didi, Busquets, Kimmich, Partey, Verrati etc...these are not players known for bone crunching tackles, their skill lies in their ability to read possession and intercept the ball, rather than dispossess them through a tackle.

Even Matic, for a player of his height, doesn’t go around mashing attackers like Keane, and Viera and co used to, because football was slower then...

Hjøjberg is a mobile, combative DM who can shuffle the lines and break play up, but then have the intelligence to play a pass and join in going forward.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a cruncher from Dier as much as the next guy, but look how much the game passes him by, we need quick ball players who can cause that transition from defence to attack to happen at speed!

Hope you appreciate my post bud, open to comments!
This is spot on. Just watch Ndidi, as a prime example. Ball goes down left, hes there, right, hes there, centre, hes got that too. The energy and reading of the game is superb.

The stats may prove me wrong, but over the last year, the main difference I've noticed is the lack of control we have in so many games. Matches against teams like Brighton and Norwich where we just can't get possession back. A long way from the suffocating spurs teams of a couple years back.
 

jay2040

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
2,636
4,165
You gotta laugh at the talks of swapping Danny Rose to an Italian club. The shit black footballers get out there is well known, Danny would laugh at any offer.

In the current climate the sentiment is such that would be prepared to forgive and have him back
 

yankspurs

Enic Out
Aug 22, 2013
41,883
71,188
You gotta laugh at the talks of swapping Danny Rose to an Italian club. The shit black footballers get out there is well known, Danny would laugh at any offer.
For his own good, I hope he does.
Absolutely. No chance we sell Lamela for any real money.
Im not sure we’ll even look to sell Lamela now. You need a bastard on your team and Jose loves having one. Plus, we’ll probably wait until next summer to sign an AM now. We’ll use what ever money we have for a DM, a young RB and/or a 2nd striker while signing Muenier and a veteran HG keeper on a free and then probably re-sign Jan for a year or 2. Money will be tight and players will be more hesitant to leave known confines.
 
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doctor stefan Freud

the tired tread of sad biology
Sep 2, 2013
15,170
72,169
For his own good, I hope he does.

Im not sure we’ll even look to sell Lamela now. You need a bastard on your team and Jose loves having one. Plus, we’ll probably wait until next summer to sign an AM now. We’ll use what ever money we have for a DM, a young RB and/or a 2nd striker while signing Muenier and a veteran HG keeper on a free and then probably re-sign Jan for a year or 2. Money will be tight and players will be more hesitant to leave known confines.
Agree with your points about Lamela but his injury record in a league famous for its grinding intensity means he’s become the ultimate luxury item. Jose likes his bastards as close to the pitch as possible and too frequently Lamela is injured for that
 

aussiespursguy

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2015
3,437
6,677
Agree with your points about Lamela but his injury record in a league famous for its grinding intensity means he’s become the ultimate luxury item. Jose likes his bastards as close to the pitch as possible and too frequently Lamela is injured for that
Add to that Le Celso has a bit of mongrel about him as well.
 

kendoddsdadsdogsdead

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2011
2,140
3,574
This is spot on. Just watch Ndidi, as a prime example. Ball goes down left, hes there, right, hes there, centre, hes got that too. The energy and reading of the game is superb.

The stats may prove me wrong, but over the last year, the main difference I've noticed is the lack of control we have in so many games. Matches against teams like Brighton and Norwich where we just can't get possession back. A long way from the suffocating spurs teams of a couple years back.

Dembele was the biggest reason why we had so much control over those years, not so much winning the ball back although he was good at that but by being the best press resistant player in the league so we could always keep the ball under pressure with him in those areas. Now the ball gets coughed up way to easy so we’re chasing more and effective closing down becomes harder to do just through mental and physical tiredness. Ndombele can hopefully bring some of that press resistant ability if he gets his fitness up though I doubt he can bring that physicality defensively that Dembele brought.
 

doctor stefan Freud

the tired tread of sad biology
Sep 2, 2013
15,170
72,169
Dembele was the biggest reason why we had so much control over those years, not so much winning the ball back although he was good at that but by being the best press resistant player in the league so we could always keep the ball under pressure with him in those areas. Now the ball gets coughed up way to easy so we’re chasing more and effective closing down becomes harder to do just through mental and physical tiredness. Ndombele can hopefully bring some of that press resistant ability if he gets his fitness up though I doubt he can bring that physicality defensively that Dembele brought.
Dembele was truly exceptional. The perfectly evolved footballer for the high press modern game. Man, him and peak Wanyama were absolute bastards to play against. While we’re typically drawn to the goal scoring flair players in football, there’s no more assuring and comforting sight than a pair of midfield bastards who’ll give the opposition little more than busted lungs and shattered muscles, self-doubt and despair over 90 minutes. That smothering type of destruction that must have broken the will of opponents over and over again. We’ll be lucky if we find something like that again soon
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
In my opinion, I disagree...but here’s why...

The way football is played now, I really think the “DM Destroyer” style of player has really died out of the game. The pace of the game makes it hard for destroyers to smash players up because the play is simply too fast.

The best DM’s in the Europe...Kante, N’didi, Busquets, Kimmich, Partey, Verrati etc...these are not players known for bone crunching tackles, their skill lies in their ability to read possession and intercept the ball, rather than dispossess them through a tackle.

Even Matic, for a player of his height, doesn’t go around mashing attackers like Keane, and Viera and co used to, because football was slower then...

Hjøjberg is a mobile, combative DM who can shuffle the lines and break play up, but then have the intelligence to play a pass and join in going forward.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a cruncher from Dier as much as the next guy, but look how much the game passes him by, we need quick ball players who can cause that transition from defence to attack to happen at speed!

Hope you appreciate my post bud, open to comments!

Destroyer was probably the wrong word. I meant a defensive midfielder who breaks up play, covers ground, fills in for team mates and is just generally a pain in the arse!

There is an article on Holbjerg on the Athletic today. It kind of goes into the problem I have with him in that I don’t really know what kind of player he is. But that is possibly down to how Southampton are set up. Reading this though makes me think he would be a useful signing. I’m not sure he’s that quick though, which would be a negative. Here are parts of it. I think it’s important to note that not one of our players is in the table for top ball winners in the league.

Hojbjerg has what Spurs need and Everton want – and he wants to win trophies
https://theathletic.com/1792106/202...am-spurs-contract/?source=user_shared_article

In a Premier League known for helter-skelter midfield battles and 30-second soundbite interviews, Hojbjerg stands out for his ability to take half a second to think before he acts. Still only 24 years old, Hojbjerg’s emotional intelligence and appreciation of the bigger picture encapsulate the new era Southampton are trying to forge. After declaring a desire to make 100 more appearances for the club on social media, one of the youngest captains in the Premier League has become a vital talisman.

That said, there’s another version of Hojbjerg, one that pops up every now and again and that can be… odd.

It is the one who takes up position at the edge of the opposition box at corners, hears the St Mary’s crowd shout “SHOOT!” and decides to oblige, despite all the evidence it’s a bad idea.

It is the one who has yet to extend a contract which expires next summer. It is the one who says “I know what I want, the club knows it too”. It is the one who is subject of interest from Everton and has been repeatedly linked to Tottenham Hotspur.

It is also the one who, despite making his first professional start under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and spending four years in England, is still an enigma.

Hojbjerg is a good player for Southampton but at what, and for how long, is harder to quantify.

Here is The Athletic’s attempt at defining their captain and his future.

Hojbjerg’s time at Bayern came to an end as, caught somewhere between a German “No 6” defensive midfielder, and a box-to-box player (he also moonlighted as a right winger, a position he had played in his youth academy days), he was loaned out to Augsburg for the second half of 2014-15, and then to Schalke for the entirety of the following season.

Profiles on the player from that time make note of how the midfielder was wise beyond his years but in an interview this week Hojbjerg reflected harshly on this time.

“My biggest weakness during this time was my impatience,” he said to German media outlet Sport 1. “I wasn’t ready to wait a year, two or three years for my breakthrough. I wanted to be important right away. I was too emotional too: ‘But how can I fail?’

“I trained with the best players in the world between the ages of 17 and 20. I was in a school of champions. But I wanted to get out of there and write my own story.”

At Southampton, he has done that. He was made club captain in December 2018 and has become one of manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s stalwarts.

Operating in a double pivot with James Ward-Prowse in Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2, a lot is asked of Hojbjerg on both sides of the ball.

“He wants his midfielders to be flexible,” Hojbjerg said of the manager in September. “To make long runs and short runs, to come into the box, to be dynamic and then to also have the tactical focus to be able to switch formation during a game or read an opponent and understand how they play.”

Hojbjerg’s contributions to the team can be hard to read — just five goals and six assists in 129 appearances do not read like the stat line of an interesting footballer, but data taken from Opta illustrate the Southampton skipper’s value.

Compared to his central midfield peers and using per-90 averages for players with 900-plus minutes, Hojbjerg has shown himself to be one of the better players at passes into the final third, his 9.2 per 90 putting him in 13th place among peers. It’s a steady score, and while we would be reluctant to call him an expansive passer, Hojbjerg has displayed a talent for getting the ball forward at a consistent rate.

In addition to this, he’s not bad in the air (winning 1.8 aerial duels per 90 — 15th among central midfielders, but behind team-mates Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse on 2.2 each) and has a pleasing durability to him. The 2,447 league minutes he has played this season, out of a possible 2,610, make him one of the league’s near ever-presents (he’s started 27 of the 29 games and came on as a sub in one of the others). Having suffered no major injuries since 2013 and with only one straight red card to his name in first-team football, Hojbjerg can be relied upon week in and week out.

Looking further, and it’s no coincidence a manager who constantly talks of “ball wins” made Hojbjerg his captain; there’s no better central midfielder in the league at it.

PEH-Ball-Recoveries-per-90-1920.png


Hojbjerg’s 10.5 ball recoveries per 90 make him the leading central midfielder in this category and one of the most aggressive players in the league. In addition to this, he is the creative hub for many a Southampton move — a look at “open play possession starts”, sees Southampton’s captain as one of the leading central midfielders at playing the first pass of a team move.

PEH-Open-Play-Possession-Start-Per-90-1920.png


Not quite a deep-lying passing metronome, nor a defensive midfield hardman, the 33-cap Denmark international’s usefulness comes with his constant recycling and moving of possession. While their time together at Bayern was brief, Hojbjerg continues to follow the “take the ball, pass the ball” philosophy of Guardiola.

There are weaknesses to his game, though.

As The Athletic’s Michael Cox outlined in January, Hojbjerg has a fondness for taking bad shots on the edge of the penalty area, and while he ranks eighth for most long passes attempted per 90 among his positional peer group, his completion rate (43 per cent), on these passes put him in the bottom 10 within the same grouping.

Yet to turn 25 (his birthday is in August), Hojbjerg is still to reach his full potential. Any club featuring him would have a diligent central midfielder on their hands; someone who can break up the opposition’s play before beginning moves of their own. It is a position in which Spurs, for one, are presently lacking.

As a teenager, Hojbjerg’s big weakness was his impatience, now in his mid-20s, his greatest strength is his patience and reliability.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
I don’t hold much stead in the Athletic as a reliable transfer source but they say this. In the same article:

The Athletic understands that while Spurs are in need of a defensive midfielder with Hojbjerg’s attributes, they are waiting until football has clarified how it will restart before finalising budgets and potential transfer outlays. Southampton’s valuation of the player might normally be too great should Tottenham be interested, though there is a general expectation that fees will be depressed this summer as clubs cope with substantial losses of income in the wake of the pandemic.

Everton are interested in signing him but it is understood that Hojbjerg would find other suitors, such as Spurs, more attractive than them if they emerged.

If that raises hopes among Southampton supporters that he could be retained, then caution would be advised. It is understood there is little chance of him agreeing to a contract extension.
 

kendoddsdadsdogsdead

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2011
2,140
3,574
Dembele was truly exceptional. The perfectly evolved footballer for the high press modern game. Man, him and peak Wanyama were absolute bastards to play against. While we’re typically drawn to the goal scoring flair players in football, there’s no more assuring and comforting sight than a pair of midfield bastards who’ll give the opposition little more than busted lungs and shattered muscles, self-doubt and despair over 90 minutes. That smothering type of destruction that must have broken the will of opponents over and over again. We’ll be lucky if we find something like that again soon
Definitely, If you know you can’t take the ball off someone or can’t press them into an area you want or force a hospital ball in a way you’re already mentally and physically beaten in an important area of the pitch, it’s draining. It gave us the energy when we didn’t have the ball as well. No offence to winks and Dier or whoever else has played there recently but it has been a massive drop off and the biggest reason why we can’t dominate any game now. Ndombele has got a bit of that ability so we need to persevere with him I think and hope he sorts his fitness out.
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,391
In my opinion, I disagree...but here’s why...

The way football is played now, I really think the “DM Destroyer” style of player has really died out of the game. The pace of the game makes it hard for destroyers to smash players up because the play is simply too fast.

The best DM’s in the Europe...Kante, N’didi, Busquets, Kimmich, Partey, Verrati etc...these are not players known for bone crunching tackles, their skill lies in their ability to read possession and intercept the ball, rather than dispossess them through a tackle.

Even Matic, for a player of his height, doesn’t go around mashing attackers like Keane, and Viera and co used to, because football was slower then...

Hjøjberg is a mobile, combative DM who can shuffle the lines and break play up, but then have the intelligence to play a pass and join in going forward.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a cruncher from Dier as much as the next guy, but look how much the game passes him by, we need quick ball players who can cause that transition from defence to attack to happen at speed!

Hope you appreciate my post bud, open to comments!


The DM role is now primarily about positional awareness and ability to read the game. There's also a lot of athleticism involved and we don't have a player that ticks those boxes. Tackles need to be won but not in a Graham Roberts sort of way. IMO, Hojbjerg has enough of those attributes to be of interest along with a very decent range of passing although I've never noticed him being particularly positionally aware. There are players I'd rather have but that doesn't mean he'd be a bad signing and he does have plenty of EPL experieence.
 
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