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Analyzing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s performance for Southampton this past weekend

By Chris Hughes

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: Kieran Gibbs of Arsenal and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton in action during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary's Stadium on January 28, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: Kieran Gibbs of Arsenal and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton in action during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary's Stadium on January 28, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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The Saints made it two wins from as many games this weekend by defeating West Bromwich Albion on their own turf, despite being without Oriol Romeu and captain Steven Davis.

When Southampton fans realized that both of their starting defensive midfielders were going to be absent for Saturday’s must-win clash with West Brom, there was pessimism among the fanbase.

Claude Puel might have been notorious for his tinkering earlier in the season, but as of late the duo of Romeu and Davis had been consistent on the teamsheet.

In their place this weekend the Frenchman went with the duo of Jordy Clasie and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, two players who had suffered as a result of Davis and Romeu’s impressive partnership.

And whilst Clasie came away with a lot of the plaudits thanks to his match-winning goal, his partner-in-crime also had a stellar game, something that has seemingly gone under the radar.

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – APRIL 08: Allan Nyom of West Bromwich Albion (L) puts pressure on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton (R) during the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Southampton at The Hawthorns on April 8, 2017 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – APRIL 08: Allan Nyom of West Bromwich Albion (L) puts pressure on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton (R) during the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Southampton at The Hawthorns on April 8, 2017 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images) /

From his 20 appearances in the Premier League this season, the Danish international was already leading the side with an 87.7 percent passing accuracy.

The former Bayern Munich man translated that consistency into his performance against West Brom, as only two players were able to better his success rate of 88.4 percent.

What’s more, Hojbjerg attempted as many as 86 passes on the day, which stands as over 20 more than any other player, and as many as both James Ward-Prowse and Dusan Tadic attempted collectively.

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On the defensive end, the 21-year-old made six interceptions per WhoScored, which was better than any other Southampton player on the pitch. It was also significantly better than his average for the season, which stands at 1.4 in the league.

Interestingly, Hojbjerg was also the only player to start the game for the Saints to make a tackle, an interception and produce both a block and a clearance, only highlighting his graft and work at a young age.

He might not of produced the same kind of stats going forward, but still had one successful dribble and drew two fouls for the winning side.

It remains to be seen whether Hojbjerg will remain in the team once Davis and Romeu both become available for selection again, or whether he’ll get in ahead of Jordy Clasie. What we do know is that is that if Danish youngster keeps it up, it’ll be difficult for Puel to ignore him.