Tottenham are reportedly being tipped to sell Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer as former Spurs defender Alan Hutton expects they might target someone more suited to Antonio Conte’s style of play.
Hojbjerg joined Tottenham under Jose Mourinho, but it seems he’s less of a key figure under Conte, with Rodrigo Bentancur signed in midfield during the January transfer window.
Hutton now thinks it makes sense if Hojbjerg, who is thought to be valued at around £25million, is offloaded this summer to help fund a move for a replacement.
“It really depends on their plans moving forward and who they want to bring in,” Hutton told Football Insider.
“You obviously see Bentancur coming in. He has got different sorts of attributes, he can get up and down the pitch. He’s really like that number eight and I think that’s what Tottenham are looking for.
“Hojbjerg does a specific job for me. He is very defensively minded. I know he’s tried to get forward in certain games, trying to dictate play and make things happen.
“But I don’t really think that’s his overall game. He’s more of a destroyer, breaking things up. It really depends on how Antonio Conte sees his midfield moving forward.
“If they are to go and compete with the teams at the top end of the league, they probably need more. I think Conte knows that.
“If Mourinho comes in with a bid that’s acceptable, they might move him on. Then they look to bring somebody in who can do everything within that midfield. That’s what Conte seems to like.”
Fair points. When I wrote those comments the response is that he is better than Winks. But that is not the issue, it is whether you want 3 players with identical attributes to pick from. The one with the trade value will likely go and that means Hojberg. Skipp still learned and like it or not Dier and Winks seems to permanent fixtures at the club. When we bring a creative mid it means we are down to 2 places one belongs to Rodrigo. So it comes back to the same predicament. Skipp or Hojberg. Notice Winks is not even in the picture until he is needed and that is why he needs to force a move out the club if he is ambitious.