Tottenham 'could turn down January bids for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp following Rodrigo Bentancur injury'... despite both midfielders getting limited minutes under Ange Postecoglou

11 months ago 50

Tottenham's growing injury crisis has left Ange Postecoglou short of options
Hojbjerg and Skipp have struggled for game time but could rise in influence
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By Luke Power For Mailonline

Published: 08:08 GMT, 30 November 2023 | Updated: 08:26 GMT, 30 November 2023

Tottenham could reportedly reject January bids for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp despite their limited minutes this season.

That's because of Rodrigo Bentancur's crushing injury blow, with the midfielder ruled out for two months with an ankle injury sustained in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

It was Bentancur's first league start since February after a serious knee injury but he joins a growing list of Spurs wounded, including fellow midfielder James Maddison, while Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma will be on Africa Cup of Nations duty in the new year.

That has left Postecoglou with less depth than he would ideally want and he could be forced to reject bids for Hojbjerg and Skipp, according to The Telegraph.

Juventus were reportedly keen on signing Hojbjerg but that ambition could now be thwarted.

Ange Postecoglou could be forced to reject any January approaches for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

The same applies to Oliver Skipp despite his and Hojbjerg's lack of game time this campaign

Rodrigo Bentancur's fresh injury blow has left Postecoglou with less midfield depth than ideal

The Dane is a regular off the bench but has started just two games this season while Skipp only started the first match of the season against Brentford.

Dejan Kulusevski even dropped into the midfield against Villa on Sunday, such is Postecoglou's hesitance to play them.

Hojbjerg has been a regular at Spurs ever since joining from Southampton in 2020, featuring in every game during his first season for the club.

Meanwhile, Skipp has been part of the furniture of the club since 2008, when he joined as a youth player, but the 23-year-old has never quite cemented a place in the team for the long-term.

Tottenham are navigating the first bumps in the Postecoglou era following three consecutive Premier League defeats.

They have slipped to fifth in the Premier League and the worrying thing for the Australian will be that his side took the lead against Chelsea, Wolves, and Villa, only to let their advantage slip.

A growing injury crisis has made things difficult for Postecoglou, who has seen his side slip to three consecutive defeats