Why are Tottenham looking to sign Morten Hjulmand? – Opinion

With Thomas Frank taking charge of Tottenham Hotspur, we are expecting the North Londoners to be more structured in terms of how they play, given how the Dane’s Brentford thrived with his deployed system, and Daniel Levy has been grinding out targets this summer that fit the North Londoners’ new head coach’s system. One of the most logical links that have emerged in the context of how a player would thrive under Frank (at least to me) is Sporting Lisbon midfielder Morten Hjulmand.

The 25-year-old is someone who is eager to fight and yet is an intelligent presence in the middle of the park, and if we look at his performances for Sporting CP, he has quietly become one of the best deep midfield anchors on the continent.

And when I sit down to make sense of it, I realise that the interest in securing his signatures isn’t random; it is instead a more data-backed transfer, all whilst being a manager-endorsed transfer that fits into the system.

The Danish connection that can aid Hjulmand to Tottenham

Hjulmand is Danish just like Frank but more importantly he fits into someone that Frank would like in his roster given how the former Bees manager likes to have clever midfielders in his roster, especially ones that can operate in zone-based pressing systems while implementing the tactical orders from the bench on a consistent basis and providing that defensive structure (in both settled phases and transition phases).

Hjulmand is positionally well-disciplined, is excellent at reading the game at a high level, and offers leadership in midfield, and all of these attributes will be required to balance the Dane’s midfield at N17.

What can Hjulmand bring to Tottenham?

Hjulmand is more of a #6 or a defensive midfielder, so you shouldn’t be expecting him to be a flashy creator or a box-crashing midfielder. He is instead more of a pure stabiliser that has the capacity to play as a holding midfielder that likes to control the tempo of the game from deep zones. He has that ability to regain possession with his well-timed tackles and interceptions, whilst when we think about the buildup phases, he drops between the centre-backs to become that third option. The 25-year-old is good at screening his back line and then reading the opponents’ transition, which, according to me, makes him one of the best percentiles when we talk about holding midfielders in Europe.

So if I am thinking about the system that Thomas Frank deployed at Brentford and if he deploys the same at Tottenham, then the 25-year-old would likely serve as the anchor in a 4-3-3 or would maybe feature as part of a double pivot in a 3-5-2 while offering a platform for more advanced midfielders like Maddison.

Having him in the side would also give more positional security for more adventurous full-backs like Udogie or Porro.

Why signing Hjulmand makes sense for Tottenham

Let me put through a few points that will make you understand the capacity that the 25-year-old possesses. Hjulmand went on to captain Lecce at 22, and whilst doing so, he showed not only that he has that leadership ability but also the fact that he is quite mature.

Moreover, if I am thinking of Thomas Frank’s system at Brentford, his playing style fits that to a tee, especially given the fact that he likes to prioritise playing with discipline over chaos.

And then he is physically resilient and has that mental capacity which, to me, appears that he is ready to play in the English top tier.

Then, Tottenham also don’t have anyone that can play as an out-and-out #6.

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Author Opinion

If I am thinking of the midfield at Tottenham, let’s be honest, it has been saturated with “between-the-roles” players for so long that they are neither creators nor destroyers (the likes of Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma). And this is where I think Morten Hjulmand brings a sense of clarity and stability that Thomas Frank will kind of want in his side.

This is a type of signing that, for me, indicates the culture shift to structure-first at Tottenham.