Ian Wright says Tottenham summer signing has surprised him

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Ian Wright has told Optus Sport’s The Kelly and Wrighty show that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has surprised him at Tottenham Hotspur since the midfielder joined the north London side – claiming he was unsure the Dane could shine at the top level.

Hojbjerg, 25, joined Tottenham in the summer from Southampton for a fee of £15million (Goal) and has since become a regular for Jose Mourinho’s side. Indeed, Spurs have already played 17 matches this season – and Hojbjerg has played 16 of them.

Sitting at the base of the midfield, £102k-a-week (Spotrac) Hojbjerg has shone. The former Bayern Munich star has added some nastiness into the middle of the park – something which had been missing in past seasons under Mauricio Pochettino.

Arsenal icon Wright has underlined Hojbjerg’s excellent start to life at Tottenham – and claimed that he is surprised at Hojbjerg’s excellent start to life at Spurs, suggesting that he had reservations over whether Hojbjerg could impress at that level.

“He’s recognised that Hojbjerg can do that job,” Wright said. “I didn’t think he’d be able to do it, as well as he is doing it if I’m being totally honest. Sissoko and Winks were trying to do that defensive role, but they weren’t doing it to this level.

“I think it was always in him, but we wanted to see if he could step up and do it at the next level. The positions he is taking up, you can see, he’s got it,” Wright added on The Kelly and Wrighty Show.

TBR’s view – Are they any better options in the PL than Hojbjerg?

Rodri has done well at Manchester City but he has hardly had the immediate impact that Hojbjerg has had at Spurs. Thomas Partey is expected to take Arsenal to the next level, while Chelsea boast World Cup winner N’Golo Kante.

While he might not be the best Premier League player in that role right now, on form, he is certainly in the top three along with Kante and Rodri. But given his age, he is only going to get better – proving to be one of the signings of the summer.