Food For Thought: Why Liverpool And Klopp Should Avoid This Danish International

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Bayern Munich’s loanee, who plays for Schalke 04 has been linked with a move to Liverpool this summer. The Danish international is a defensive midfielder and made 30 appearances for Schalke last season. Hojbjerg has said that he will leave Bayern this summer and would relish the opportunity to play under Klopp. After Mario Gotze’s deal collapsed, Klopp has set his sights on other midfielders to strengthen his squad. Jurgen Klopp is well aware of the Bundesliga and the talent which is on show in Germany’s top league. Here is a brief background of Liverpool’s latest target.

Pierre Hojbjerg joined Bayern Munich during the 2012-13 season and made 44 appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals. He was then loaned out to Augsburg in 2015. After his short stint at Augsburg, Hojbjerg joined Schalke on loan at the beginning of last season. The Danish midfielder has won a lot of trophies during his time at Bayern Munich like, the Bundesliga, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and the German league cup. He has made 15 appearances for his national side so far in his short career.

Hojbjerg is a skillful and talented defensive midfielder. He likes to dribble and is good at counter attacks. He is swift and so he is very useful to the team during counter attacks. Also, his finishing is excellent which helps him to give a positive end product. Also his defensive abilities are exceptional. The 20-year-old intercepts passes very efficiently and also blocks the ball. His style of play includes high pressing which has been a feature of Liverpool’s style of play this season. He times his tackles to perfection and wins the ball in dangerous areas for his team. Hojbjerg has made 31 appearances for Schalke and has provided just 1 assist. His defensive contribution is more notable.

Liverpool have the likes of Emre Can, Lucas Leiva and Jordan Henderson as their defensive midfielders. Can was excellent last season, performing his defensive duties to perfection. Also, Can’s links up well with Coutinho and Firmino with short and quick passes. Lucas is the most experienced player in Liverpool’s squad right now and has shown what he can bring to the team with many spirited performances throughout the season. Henderson was injured for a lot of time during the season and could hardly impact the team’s performance. But he has shown in the past the class that he possesses.

In Liverpool’s 4-2-3-1 formation, Can and Henderson are the two likely men to start behind the three attacking midfielders. Also, Liverpool have Lucas Leiva as a strong back up. At the moment, Liverpool have a strong line-up and do not need a defensive midfielder. Hojbjerg is the perfect player for Jurgen Klopp, but he might not get proper game time at the club. So Liverpool should not spend on Hojbjerg, at least for this season.