Paratici set for Spurs catastrophe on "one-man wrecking machine", Conte would be livid - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is attracting increasing interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report by The Mirror, who claim that Newcastle United are now plotting a £30m bid for the 26-year-old at the end of the season, with the Denmark international said to be high on Eddie Howe’s list of transfer targets this summer.

The report goes on to state that AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho is also interested in a move for the midfielder in the off-season, with the Serie A side having already failed in a bid to bring Hojbjerg to the Stadio Olimpico last summer.

Considering how important a part of Antonio Conte’s Tottenham side Hojbjerg quite clearly is, the argument that Fabio Paratici cashing in on the midfielder this summer would be something of a disaster is an easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 31 Premier League appearances so far this season, the £59m-rated Dane has been imperious in the heart of the Spurs midfield, scoring two goals, registering two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.9 shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

However, it is his defensive metrics that are particularly impressive, with the £102k-per-week dynamo making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, 1.3 clearances and winning 5.3 duels – at a success rate of 58% – per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Rob Davies dubbed a “one-man wrecking machine” average a quite sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as Conte’s second-best performing midfielder – behind only Dejan Kulusevski – in the top flight.

As such, considering his status in the Tottenham squad, his incredibly impressive level of performance on the