Player Watch: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

[Ben1]

I'm ok with selling him if Ange thinks other player suits better for his tactics, but Hoj doesn't deseve amount of shit he's getting. He was one of little, who actually gave a fuck.

What worries me is other thing tough.
Our leaders from last seasons: Hugo, Dier, PEH, Kane.
Hugo as good as gone, Dier please be gone, PEH might be going, Kane might be going.

I know our perfomances didn't exactly show the team was mentally strong/well lead or whatever, but meh leaders are still better than no leaders.

edit: another thing - La Liga clubs (bar RM) have little to none money for transfers due to La Liga FFP restrictions. If none of their players is involved in a swap deal, the fee could be underwhelming for us. Which could be ok when it comes to selling Ndombele, but come on not in this case. I hope I'm wrong though.

Gotta be honest, could not give a hoot about the leaders from last season leaving. If anything that’s a blessing.

 

[DJS]

Agree, although we have:

Bissouma, Skipp, Sarr and Bentancur vying for 2 positions without PEH. Even with Bentancur out till later in the year that's 3 players for two roles. It could also be that White is seen a potential option as well.

But yes I'd prefer we get someone in to replace PEH, ideally Lavia.

Yep if Bentancur didn’t have that nasty injury we’d be absolutely fine just selling PEH, but the concern is getting Bentancur fully fit and also that he can get back to same level (see Sandro, Wanayama that still saddens me as he was so immense and even Palacios).

Hopefully Bentancur will be fine but we can’t afford to leave ourselves short there.

 

[rabbikeane]

If we go 4-3-3 and only need one of Skipp, Bissouma or Sarr to play alongside Maddison and another attacking 8 then great, but in the English league with the physical battles in the middle I still reckon we’d need two of ones I’ve listed in there to provide some steel and free up the attacking players.

With Maddison in a midfield trio I reckon we have to beef up the other #8 to balance it out. Not sure we can start with two very attacking midfielders.
Looking at Napoli's midfield trio of Lotbotka, Anguissa and Zielinski.
I think we could do something similar if we went in for Amrabat:

Maddison - Bissouma
Amrabat

Ndombele - Sarr
Skipp

+ Bentancur when he return​

 

[mil1lion]

A good fit for our previous style of football but need more mobile technical players for Ange. I think its more likely we sign Hatate to help transition to 433. I could see this as very good for next season.

Bissouma/Skipp
Maddison/Sarr---Hatate/Bentancur​

 

[eddiev14]

I don’t personally think he fits for where we want to go as a club so would welcome the ability to get some money for him. Good character though

 

[felmani26]

Defensively he is pretty poor tho so he would be in competition with Skipp, Sarr and Bentancur for the other CM role. Although I do think Sarr might be able to play DM with time. I certainly wouldn't want to play Lavia as a DM tho. He does look like a big prospect but I'm not completely convinced we need him considering our current options and ether way a lot of big clubs are circling so I think it would be hard to convince him. Looks a talent tho obviously but still very raw.

Would humbly disagree here mate.

Lavia would be the perfect 6 for Ange in the pivot and is supremely press resistant, unlike for instance Hojbjerg.

 

[Timberwolf]

Think Atletico is a great match for him.

Also think it's quite telling that the team targeting him is one with a defensive focus rather than an expansive play-style.

Don't think any top, progressive, possession-based teams will be bidding for him, which kind of sums up why I'm happy to get rid even though he's a useful player.

 

[C0YS]

Defensive midfielders are Skipp, Bissouma, Sarr and Bentancur (who will be out first few months of campaign and we still don’t know how injury will effect him in long term).

If we played 4-2-3-1 we would have to play 2 out of the above, leaving us only 1 back up so then any further injuries and we are extremely short in a valuable engine room position.

Maddison and Kulusevski can’t play as one of the two in a 4-2-3-1.

If we go 4-3-3 and only need one of Skipp, Bissouma or Sarr to play alongside Maddison and another attacking 8 then great, but in the English league with the physical battles in the middle I still reckon we’d need two of ones I’ve listed in there to provide some steel and free up the attacking players.

I don't think ange will play more than one holder. I also don't think we will play 4-2-3-1 as our go to. Maybe we will play it on occasion when bentacur is injured as we lack clear number 8s. Though reckon Bissouma could play in that position

Also. I personally do not see Sarr as a holding player but a more box to box midfielder. Right now, assuming 4-3-3 he might well be the second option after Bentancur for that role. Now you could argue we still need to strengthen but for numbers we are fine and for numbers we have too many holders, though arguably we could do with one who can reliably pass the ball.

 

[fridgemagnet]

As long as we go into the season with adequate cover/competition for Bentancur and Maddison, if there's some youth in the ranks we can call on or if we need to get shopping I'm fine with it.
Not having a player similar to Bentancur as an option completely stuffed us last season.

I don't wish ill on PEH but he (not alone it must be said) gave away so much cheap possession from simple passes last season I about had enough.
And for playing the hard man viking image he was extremely soft more than once to the point it cost us goals or allowed very good chances on goal.

I will say the role/instructions he seemed to have for Denmark suited him more than how we used him, I don't know if that PEH would fit in Ange teams?
However if this is purely a moneyball thing and it allows us to recruit much needed CB's then I'm fine with it.

 

[Tucker]

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.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

If we sell Hojbjerg it’s a guarantee we buy another CM. Would be madness going into the season with only Bissouma, Skipp and Sarr to fill 2 starting roles for maybe 3 months till Bantancur is back 100% fit. Europe or no Europe you don’t go into a season that thin, especially when we don’t even know really how good Skipp or Sarr actually are.

I think it will also depend on what happens to Lo Celso and Ndombele. We’ve had ITK saying Angie wants to look over the returning loans before making a decision on their future. If they both go (which seems probable) then I think it’s very likely we will bring someone in but if they stay it becomes significantly less likely. Aside from that there will be the question if Divine goes on loan or stays. Essentially whilst it’s probable we bring in another CM or DM I don’t think it’s a simple as sell PEH and bring someone straight in.

 

[C0YS]

Would humbly disagree here mate.

Lavia would be the perfect 6 for Ange in the pivot and is supremely press resistant, unlike for instance Hojbjerg.

In maybe 2-3 years. Lavia was impressive at the begining of the campaign and has all the attributes and people are rightfully after him, but take away his initial performances and it's a mixed bag. Phenomenal for a 19 year old though. I also think he could develop in a higher role. It's like the Kante thing. If you play Kante as a single pivot he is ordinary, if you play him in a double pivot he is fantastic.

There are question marks on how to get the best of Lavia, largely because right now he is a combination of impressive attributes but his direction of how those attributes can be best applied is unclear.

Btw. Its worth noting that most of Ange's pivots have historically been ball players that set the tempo from deep Im not entirely sure that's Lavias game. This is probably why I actually think Bentancur is the most natural fit for the holding roll.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

This is probably why I actually think Bentancur is the most natural fit for the holding roll.

. I think he is a better fit there, than a high energy 8.

 

[Now it's Spursonal]

Defensively he is pretty poor tho so he would be in competition with Skipp, Sarr and Bentancur for the other CM role. Although I do think Sarr might be able to play DM with time. I certainly wouldn't want to play Lavia as a DM tho. He does look like a big prospect but I'm not completely convinced we need him considering our current options and ether way a lot of big clubs are circling so I think it would be hard to convince him. Looks a talent tho obviously but still very raw.

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.

 

[Flobadob]

Makes a lot of sense. He’s always done well when we’ve played a more defensive approach and he’s been allowed to sit deep and clog holes, it’s when he’s been asked to do more with the ball or been pressed deep without much support that his deficiencies on the ball have shown. He would suit Athletico and Simeone

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

 

[dude573]

I would want around £30-£40m for him at least. A very capable midfielder, regular for his country, hardly ever injured, captain qualities and going into his prime.

 

[sage]

Genuinely can't understand the hate boner some have for this guy. He may not be the modern, flashy midfielder people wanted, but he's never been that kind of player. He's been an absolute consummate professional who always gave it all on the pitch. I get that he doesn't really fit what Ange is looking for, but if he leaves, I personally think his leadership will be missed in the dressing room. I'll be sad to see him go.

 

[Cochise]

I think £25m would be the lowest we should accept for him. At the end of the day he's an average player that isn't going to improve much past what he is now. He can create but not often, he can score but not often and he can put in some good defensive displays now and then.

I'm not a great fan, but I'm not a hater either. I just think that whilst he's a great professional, he's a bit of a jack of all trades with no real stand out attributes.

 

[cliff jones]

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.

no comparison here