‘I love to see his quality’ - Freund on Hojbjerg

There’s a knowing smile from Steffen Freund as he talks about the form of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Twice Bundesliga champion and Champions League winner with Borussia Dortmund, Euro 96 winner with Germany, Steffen lifted the League Cup here at Spurs in 1999, reached the semi-final of the FA Cup in the same season and then the League Cup Final again in 2002 in his 131 appearances between 1999-2003.

He’s more than familiar with those key midfield battlegrounds of the Premier League that Pierre is stalking so impressively at the moment and, as a co-commentator and pundit for RTL, Nitro, the DFL (Bundesliga) and DFB (German FA) back in Germany, he’s also familiar with Pierre’s story.

The Danish international joined Bayern Munich from Brondby IF in 2012 and made his debut aged 17, the youngest player to represent the Bavarian giants in the Bundesliga. He joined Southampton in 2016 and switched to Spurs last summer.

Pierre has been nothing less than outstanding in a Spurs shirt, remains ever-present in the Premier League and has featured in 33 of our 36 matches in all competitions so far this season.

He provided an inch-perfect assist for Harry Kane to open the scoring in an important victory against West Brom on Sunday, hot on the heels of a thunderbolt against Liverpool, his first goal for us.

“I love to see his quality,” said Steffen. “He’s improved so much without the ball and works so hard, and that’s why the supporters love him, it’s just a pity they are not there in the stadium to see his performances and to be able to show that appreciation.

“The Premier League is perfect for him. He has a fantastic attitude, works so hard and he will give everything to win, a little bit like me in the past!

"He spent four years at Southampton and now we see the best of him at Spurs, using all his experience. It’s great to see and he’s such an important player for Spurs. I’ve been really impressed with Pierre.”