Has Hojbjerg unlocked the potential of Ndombele? – scout report

[mawspurs]

For the majority of the time since he moved to the EPL and became Tottenham Hotspur’s club-record signing in the summer of 2019, ex-Olympique Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has struggled to hit the same level of performance that he managed to hit during his time Ligue 1.

Source: Total Football Analysis

 

[Japhet]

I think we've looked best with Hojbjerg playing as a conventional DM. Mourinho seemed to like having him chase around trying to win the ball back, but neither Ndombele nor LoCelso are scared of a tackle so I'd prefer Hojbjerg to sit in the middle and organize. I also think Winks is better with less defensive responsibility and comes out of his shell a bit. The obvious fly in the ointment is that we're a bit stuffed if Hojbjerg gets a knock but we still have Gedson able to come in, or Sissoko, both of whom can cover a lot of ground in the DM role. I've got a feeling though that Mourinho will revert back to Winks in the shielding role if Hojbjerg gets crocked, so not really looking forward to that.

 

[Locotoro]

I think we've looked best with Hojbjerg playing as a conventional DM. Mourinho seemed to like having him chase around trying to win the ball back, but neither Ndombele nor LoCelso are scared of a tackle so I'd prefer Hojbjerg to sit in the middle and organize. I also think Winks is better with less defensive responsibility and comes out of his shell a bit. The obvious fly in the ointment is that we're a bit stuffed if Hojbjerg gets a knock but we still have Gedson able to come in, or Sissoko, both of whom can cover a lot of ground in the DM role. I've got a feeling though that Mourinho will revert back to Winks in the shielding role if Hojbjerg gets crocked, so not really looking forward to that.

Well, if he's looking for the DM to recycle possession and get the likes of Ndombele and GLC on the ball Winks is a good back up option. I suspect having those two in front give us that bite in midfield. It's just that PEH provides more defensive stability than Winks. But winks isn't the problem, it's when you lose PEH and GLC and Ndombele that you have a problem

 

[popstar7]

Skipp would be the obvious deputy for Hojbjerg long term. Plenty of time for him to develop and hopefully Norwich is the right move for him. Don't see Winks ever developing into that kind of DM player really. He's 24 now and there's no really outstanding element to his game - defensive or attacking.

 

[Japhet]

Well, if he's looking for the DM to recycle possession and get the likes of Ndombele and GLC on the ball Winks is a good back up option. I suspect having those two in front give us that bite in midfield. It's just that PEH provides more defensive stability than Winks. But winks isn't the problem, it's when you lose PEH and GLC and Ndombele that you have a problem

No problem at all with Winks playing that role if we're controlling the game. The problems crop up when teams get us on the back foot and he's forced into more of a shielding role than being at the first point of us going forward.

 

[Freddie]

I think we've looked best with Hojbjerg playing as a conventional DM. Mourinho seemed to like having him chase around trying to win the ball back, but neither Ndombele nor LoCelso are scared of a tackle so I'd prefer Hojbjerg to sit in the middle and organize. I also think Winks is better with less defensive responsibility and comes out of his shell a bit. The obvious fly in the ointment is that we're a bit stuffed if Hojbjerg gets a knock but we still have Gedson able to come in, or Sissoko, both of whom can cover a lot of ground in the DM role. I've got a feeling though that Mourinho will revert back to Winks in the shielding role if Hojbjerg gets crocked, so not really looking forward to that.

There seems to be a trend of playing specialist pressers higher up the pitch and keeping ball-playing midfielders deeper, but I agree, I much prefer an orthodox defensive midfielder at the base. Players like GLC and Ndombele need a licence to be able to try to beat a man or play a pass, and Hojbjerg sitting deep affords them that courtesy.