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.
The Frenchman rarely started during his first season in north London, and it didn’t take him long to draw the ire of Spurs boss Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese coach called Ndombele’s fitness into question last term.
However, Mourinho has changed his tune somewhat this season as he has already been full of praise for Ndombele.
The signs of improvement that he has shown for the Lilywhites at the start of the 2020/21 campaign and the addition of Denmark international Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to Tottenham Hotspur’s midfield has played no small part in the Frenchman’s upturn in form.
In this tactical analysis piece, in the form of a scout report, we will look at how Højbjerg has influenced José Mourinho’s tactics pertaining to Spurs’ midfield, and this tactical analysis will look at how he has had impacted Ndombele’s game in particular, since moving to north London from Southampton during the summer.
Statistical analysis of Højbjerg’s impact on Spurs’ tactics in possession
We are just four games into the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, which is still very early days for this season.
However, there have been some noticeable differences to Tottenham’s game this term and new midfield man Højbjerg has been pivotal to those differences.
Firstly, Spurs have been more patient with the ball this term.
In the Premier League, they have kept more possession, in general, thus far in the 2020/21 campaign than they did last season, as they have kept an average of 55.2% possession in their opening four games of this league season, while they kept 51.1% of possession in England’s top-flight last season.
Additionally, this rise in possession has been accompanied by a rise in passes, as Tottenham have completed 493.85 passes per 90 this term.
In contrast, they completed 425.06 passes per 90 in England’s top-flight for the 2020/21 campaign.
Højbjerg’s passing ability has been central to Spurs’ increased average percentage of possession and their increase in passes played per 90 so far this season.
Last season, in the league, Harry Winks who played a similar role to the one Højbjerg currently plays for Spurs in a handful of games under Mourinho played more passes per 90 of any Tottenham player, with 59.7 and a pass accuracy percentage of 90.7%.
However, Højbjerg has surpassed that significantly so far this term, as he has played an average of 76.85 passes per 90, with a 92.19% pass success percentage.
The ex-Southampton man has not only played more passes than any other Tottenham player this season, but he has also currently played more passes (333) than any other player in England’s top flight this term.
So, Højbjerg has evidently been an important player in possession this season for the Lilywhites, but he contributes to his side in more ways than just ball retention he also plays a key role in ball progression.
In addition to surpassing Winks’ average number of passes per 90 this term so far, Højbjerg has also surpassed the Englishman in terms of passes to the final third per 90, so far this season.
Winks played more passes to the final third (10.43) than any other Tottenham player last season and 85.3% of his passes played into the final third were accurate.
However, Højbjerg currently leads the Lilywhites in this statistic for the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, as he has played 11.54 passes to the final third so far this season and 90% of his passes to the final third have been accurate, with only four other Premier League players having played more of their passes into the final third accurately at this stage of the campaign.
Furthermore, Højbjerg currently leads England in terms of the overall total of passes he has played to the final third (50) so far this season.
These statistics give us a good idea of Højbjerg’s importance to Tottenham’s tactics in possession and it’s somewhat clear that he has played a significant role for them in keeping more of the ball and in progressing the ball into more dangerous areas of the pitch this season.
Spurs have adapted to a more possession-based style this season so far and Højbjerg has been important in helping them to do that.
This change, which has come with heavy influence from Højbjerg, has significantly impacted Ndombele’s game.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg positioning
Last season, Ndombele was often benched for Spurs but when he did play, he occupied various positions and struggled to nail down a place in the squad for himself.
He sometimes played as the deepest of three central midfielders, he sometimes played as the most advanced of three central midfielders and he sometimes played somewhere between the two.
Ndombele has been deployed quite deep to a large degree of success throughout his career.
However, with the arrival of Højbjerg at Spurs, the Frenchman has played far more frequently in a more advanced midfield role and he has impressed in this position, with his performances in this role resulting in him receiving high praise from the same manager who had been publicly criticising him just months prior.
This image above shows us an example of Spurs’ shape during the build-up with both Højbjerg and Ndombele on the pitch, while Moussa Sissoko rounds out the midfield three in this particular example.
Here, we can see Spurs forming a ‘3-2’ shape with their backline and their midfield line, during the build-up.
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