Harry Diamond
Jose Mourinho has lavished praise on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg following the midfielder’s impressive start with Tottenham and admits ‘simplicity is genius’ when it comes to the star.
Hojbjerg signed for the north London side from Southampton during the summer and has bounced back from a difficult debut against Everton to emerge as a key figure for Spurs, producing a series of outstanding performances and adding bite and presence to the club’s engine room.
The Denmark international was once again a stand-out performer as Spurs beat Arsenal 2-0 in the north London derby to remain top of the Premier League on goal difference, with many crediting the impact of the 25-year-old for his role in the club’s improvement this season.
Mourinho has quickly formed a strong relationship with a midfielder who has become a key cog in his new-look side, and the Spurs boss was full of praise for Hojbjerg’s ‘intelligence’ and chairman Daniel Levy for completing his signing this summer.
“Pierre is, first of all, very intelligent. He reads the game very well. He’s going to be a coach one day, for sure,” Mourinho said at his post match press conference.
“He’s a pain, asking questions about why we do this and why we do that. On the pitch, he reads the situation very, very well and the people that surround him are really compact, they read the game.
“Physically he’s very, very strong and technically he’s much better than people think. Because sometimes people think the guy that is good technically is the guy that does the backheel. The guy that is good technically is the guy that does something wonderful. But these are not my words. These are words from coaches of 30, 40 years ago. Simplicity is genius.
“And the guy is so simple in everything he does with the ball. And I think he’s a phenomenal player. Congratulations, Mr. [Daniel] Levy [Spurs chairman].”
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