Player Watch: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

MindOverMatter said:

How did his medical go today?

Click to expand...

TheAmerican said:

From an Everton supporter on reddit:

When he was rumoured to join Everton I decided to analyse his statistics & compare to the rest of the league.

Well actually at first I was mainly doing this to directly compare his defensive actions per 90 (DAP90) with Sigurdsson, who has been Everton's defensive midfielder for most of the season.

I wanted to figure out why exactly Marco Silva & Carlo Ancelotti turned last season's Europe's Top scorer from Midfield (13 goals) with the 2nd most shots/key passes combined behind Hazard (Sigurdsson) into a defensive midfielder.

Someone who had 54 G/A in the PL from 14/15-16/17 the joint most of any midfielder. (There's 1 missing assist)

So I decided to calculate all of the Premier League's CDM's average defensive actions. DAP90 consists of all ball recoveries, tackles & interceptions being combined & dividing the total based on per 90 minutes.

Højbjerg finds himself 2nd on the list. Sigurdsson, who I was initially comparing him with finds himself twice in the Top 5 when looking solely at his Top 6/10 matches at CDM. He is the most 'featured' player on this list because unlike the other players he's normally a #10 who is supposedly 'inadequate' defensively.

• 14.16 - Wilfried Ndidi
• 13.68 - Højbjerg
• 13.21 - Jorginho
• 12.93 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Top 6 CDM apps)
• 12.75 - Fred
• 11.86 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Top 10 CDM apps)
• 11.82 - Jefferson Lerma
• 11.76 - Declan Rice
• 11.41 - Ruben Neves
• 11.38 - Naby Keita
• 11.32 - N'golo Kante
• 10.79 - Nakamba
• 10.77 - Capoue
• 10.65 - Romeu
• 10.31 - Rodri
• 10.24 - Kovacic
• 10.13 - Joao Moutinho
• 10.06 - McTominay
• 9.94 - Henderson
• 9.82 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (First 13 CDM apps, prior to Project restart)
• 9.80 - Fabinho
• 9.75 - Lo Celso
• 9.70 - Billing
• 9.60 - Doucouré
• 9.52 - Sissoko
• 9.48 - Ndombele
• 9.37 - Torreira
• 9.31 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (All CDM apps)
• 9.17 - Douglas Luiz
• 9.11 - Pogba
• 9.05 - Ward-Prowse
• 8.91 - Milivojevic
• 8.88 - Harry Winks
• 8.70 - Choudhury
• 8.47 - Will Hughes
• 8.46 - James McCarthur
• 8.28 - Guendouzi
• 8.23 - Xhaka
• 8.21 - Gundogan
• 8.10 - Lundstram
• 7.94 - Mark Noble
• 7.88 - Aaron Mooy
• 7.84 - Tielemans
• 7.81 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Last 6 CDM apps, after Project restart)
• 7.67 - Jonjo Shelvey
• 7.65 - Fernandinho
• 7.45 - Kouyaté
• 7.11 - Dendoncker
• 6.93 - Gini Wijnaldum
• 6.84 - Tom Davies
• 6.04 - Eric Dier

The reason why Sigurdsson appears multiple times is because I was comparing both his & Højbjerg's DAP90, and while Sigurdsson started off well at CDM he ended up being in & out of the side after project restart which diluted his DAP90 as the list shows.

You don't 'just' go from being among the Top 5.. Twice. To being in the bottom 8 in the last 6 matches.

Going from consistently delivering 12+ DAP90 to finishing in the middle of the list with 9.31

However this post was primarily about Højbjerg, and his defensive output this season has been insane. More than twice of Eric Dier's to put it into perspective.

Højbjerg won the most ball recoveries of any PL midfielder (320)
Now to put into even further perspective:

• That's 17 more than both Kante (156) and Fernandinho (147) combined this season.
• 2018/19 - Ndidi won 324 in 3298 min
• 2017/19 - Kante won 312 in 2998 min
• 2016/17 - Kante won 274 in 3139 min
• 2015/16 - Gueye won 340 in 3075 min
• 2015/16 - Kante won 325 in 3020 min

Højbjerg outperforms all of them in terms of ball recoveries per 90, because he did it with only 2749 min.

Due to his contract dispute he fell out of the team with 7 matches left off the season.

• Not in squad vs Watford & Man City
• Played 20 min vs Everton
• Bench vs Man Utd
• Played 90 min vs Brighton
• Played 13 min vs Bournemouth
• Not in squad vs Sheff Utd.

Based on his average of 10.47 ball recoveries per 90 min, Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg could've easily finished the season with 400+ ball recoveries.

Surely that must be a Premier League record? And the worst part is nobody cares about ball recoveries because most stat websites do not account for them.

They're the 'hidden' defensive contribution, when you recover the ball without it registering as a tackle or interception it's a ball recovery. This is one of the biggest reasons why Højbjerg has remained under everyone's radar.

Click to expand...

TheSpillage said:

Maybe my post belongs in a separate thread in general football but, as much as I appreciate the effort that goes into this sort of statistical analysis, I find myself reading about 5 lines down then just tuning out. It’s all a bit clinical for me.

I miss 4-4-2 and sweepers; I’m almost certain I don’t quite understand what a ‘press’ is or how to beat it; and ‘expected goals’ sounds like a typical Saturday for me (TheSpillage expected Spurs to score goals but, alas, they didn’t).

If he looks like he puts a shift in, wins lots of tackles and can pass the ball, then I’m right behind him.

Age is a terrible thing.

Click to expand...

matthew.absurdum said:

Saints web is such a funny place

//Crap player who we can easily improve on. No loss whatsoever. Not got a clue why Spurs want him when they’ve got much better players in Winks and Dembele in that position//

Click to expand...

Joshua said:

The gist of all that is that he wins the ball an absolute shitload. More than basically anyone else ??

Click to expand...

MindOverMatter said:

How did his medical go today?

Click to expand...

TheAmerican said:

From an Everton supporter on reddit:

When he was rumoured to join Everton I decided to analyse his statistics & compare to the rest of the league.

Well actually at first I was mainly doing this to directly compare his defensive actions per 90 (DAP90) with Sigurdsson, who has been Everton's defensive midfielder for most of the season.

I wanted to figure out why exactly Marco Silva & Carlo Ancelotti turned last season's Europe's Top scorer from Midfield (13 goals) with the 2nd most shots/key passes combined behind Hazard (Sigurdsson) into a defensive midfielder.

Someone who had 54 G/A in the PL from 14/15-16/17 the joint most of any midfielder. (There's 1 missing assist)

So I decided to calculate all of the Premier League's CDM's average defensive actions. DAP90 consists of all ball recoveries, tackles & interceptions being combined & dividing the total based on per 90 minutes.

Højbjerg finds himself 2nd on the list. Sigurdsson, who I was initially comparing him with finds himself twice in the Top 5 when looking solely at his Top 6/10 matches at CDM. He is the most 'featured' player on this list because unlike the other players he's normally a #10 who is supposedly 'inadequate' defensively.

• 14.16 - Wilfried Ndidi
• 13.68 - Højbjerg
• 13.21 - Jorginho
• 12.93 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Top 6 CDM apps)
• 12.75 - Fred
• 11.86 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Top 10 CDM apps)
• 11.82 - Jefferson Lerma
• 11.76 - Declan Rice
• 11.41 - Ruben Neves
• 11.38 - Naby Keita
• 11.32 - N'golo Kante
• 10.79 - Nakamba
• 10.77 - Capoue
• 10.65 - Romeu
• 10.31 - Rodri
• 10.24 - Kovacic
• 10.13 - Joao Moutinho
• 10.06 - McTominay
• 9.94 - Henderson
• 9.82 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (First 13 CDM apps, prior to Project restart)
• 9.80 - Fabinho
• 9.75 - Lo Celso
• 9.70 - Billing
• 9.60 - Doucouré
• 9.52 - Sissoko
• 9.48 - Ndombele
• 9.37 - Torreira
• 9.31 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (All CDM apps)
• 9.17 - Douglas Luiz
• 9.11 - Pogba
• 9.05 - Ward-Prowse
• 8.91 - Milivojevic
• 8.88 - Harry Winks
• 8.70 - Choudhury
• 8.47 - Will Hughes
• 8.46 - James McCarthur
• 8.28 - Guendouzi
• 8.23 - Xhaka
• 8.21 - Gundogan
• 8.10 - Lundstram
• 7.94 - Mark Noble
• 7.88 - Aaron Mooy
• 7.84 - Tielemans
• 7.81 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Last 6 CDM apps, after Project restart)
• 7.67 - Jonjo Shelvey
• 7.65 - Fernandinho
• 7.45 - Kouyaté
• 7.11 - Dendoncker
• 6.93 - Gini Wijnaldum
• 6.84 - Tom Davies
• 6.04 - Eric Dier

The reason why Sigurdsson appears multiple times is because I was comparing both his & Højbjerg's DAP90, and while Sigurdsson started off well at CDM he ended up being in & out of the side after project restart which diluted his DAP90 as the list shows.

You don't 'just' go from being among the Top 5.. Twice. To being in the bottom 8 in the last 6 matches.

Going from consistently delivering 12+ DAP90 to finishing in the middle of the list with 9.31

However this post was primarily about Højbjerg, and his defensive output this season has been insane. More than twice of Eric Dier's to put it into perspective.

Højbjerg won the most ball recoveries of any PL midfielder (320)
Now to put into even further perspective:

• That's 17 more than both Kante (156) and Fernandinho (147) combined this season.
• 2018/19 - Ndidi won 324 in 3298 min
• 2017/19 - Kante won 312 in 2998 min
• 2016/17 - Kante won 274 in 3139 min
• 2015/16 - Gueye won 340 in 3075 min
• 2015/16 - Kante won 325 in 3020 min

Højbjerg outperforms all of them in terms of ball recoveries per 90, because he did it with only 2749 min.

Due to his contract dispute he fell out of the team with 7 matches left off the season.

• Not in squad vs Watford & Man City
• Played 20 min vs Everton
• Bench vs Man Utd
• Played 90 min vs Brighton
• Played 13 min vs Bournemouth
• Not in squad vs Sheff Utd.

Based on his average of 10.47 ball recoveries per 90 min, Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg could've easily finished the season with 400+ ball recoveries.

Surely that must be a Premier League record? And the worst part is nobody cares about ball recoveries because most stat websites do not account for them.

They're the 'hidden' defensive contribution, when you recover the ball without it registering as a tackle or interception it's a ball recovery. This is one of the biggest reasons why Højbjerg has remained under everyone's radar.

Click to expand...

THFCSPURS19 said:

Not too great - I heard he tripped up on an unflattened 'Keep your distance' floor sticker and will now be out for 9 months.

Click to expand...

MindOverMatter said:

How did his medical go today?

Click to expand...

mil1lion said:

He failed the medical and all the fans complaining about him not being good enough are now up in arms for letting this one fall through

Click to expand...

Joshua said:

The gist of all that is that he wins the ball an absolute shitload. More than basically anyone else ??

Click to expand...

Timberwolf said:

Curious thing is you'd think the Saints fans would be far more gutted to see him leave.

I know someone will reply with the 'sour grapes' line but when Schneiderlin and Toby were linked to us most of them were absolutely distraught to lose them. In comparison few of them seem bothered about losing Hojbjerg.

But then the stats don't completely lie right? Are the Saints fans not appreciating the subtle things he does or is he just one of those players that looks good on paper but less good in person? You would hope that Jose knows this and feels he can maximise his strengths and bypass his limitations.

Click to expand...

Timberwolf said:

Curious thing is you'd think the Saints fans would be far more gutted to see him leave.

I know someone will reply with the 'sour grapes' line but when Schneiderlin and Toby were linked to us most of them were absolutely distraught to lose them. In comparison few of them seem bothered about losing Hojbjerg.

But then the stats don't completely lie right? Are the Saints fans not appreciating the subtle things he does or is he just one of those players that looks good on paper but less good in person? You would hope that Jose knows this and feels he can maximise his strengths and bypass his limitations.

Click to expand...

spurs mental said:

Those were both mainstays in their team the season before they left. PEH hasn't played since lockdown.

Click to expand...

spurslenny said:

How long does it take to count how many legs he has? Longest medical ever.

Click to expand...