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‘Sloppy’… ESPN pundit says £15m Tottenham player’s passing was simply not good enough vs United
Craig Burley has criticised Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after his display at Manchester United yesterday.
The ESPN pundit has claimed that Hojbjerg’s passing ‘leaves a lot to be desired’ and this area of his game was way below par on Sunday.
Ange Postecoglou gave Hojbjerg the nod in midfield against United, alongside Rodrigo Bentancur and Oliver Skipp.
It was the midfielder’s fifth start in the league this term as he’s found himself behind the likes of Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr in the pecking order.
But with the duo currently at AFCON 2024 and the likes of James Maddison, Giovani Lo Celso and Dejan Kulusevski all sidelined yesterday, Postecoglou was limited in terms of options in midfield.
Don Hutchison feels Hojbjerg and Bentancur were the best players on the pitch at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Yet, Burley disagrees with Hutchison’s assessment of Hojbjerg as he feels the Dane’s passing was ‘sloppy’.
Burley says Hojbjerg’s passing wasn’t good enough against United
Speaking on the podcast, Burley shared his verdict on Hojbjerg’s display.
“Hojbjerg and Skipp don’t get in the side do they? I mean I get what Don’s [Hutchison] saying about Hojbjerg, but sometimes his passing leaves a lot to be desired,” the pundit said. “Some of his passing today was a little sloppy.”
Hojbjerg has performed fairly well when called upon this season, despite his obvious limitations when it comes to playing in Postecoglou’s system.
The 28-year-old just isn’t the right fit for Postecoglou’s style of football and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him head out the door before the start of next season.
With that being said, he put in a decent shift at United yesterday and contributed to their dominance in midfield.
In our view, the man’s passing is actually one of the stronger areas of his game. He just lacks the required ability on the ball to thrive in a Postecoglou system.