Tottenham Hotspur are enjoying life under Ange Postecoglou and barely appear to have noticed the club-record sale of club-record goalscorer Harry Kane.

The London club currently top the Premier League table after eight matches and look poised to maintain pace at the forefront of the pack, having failed to qualify for Europe after slumping to an eighth-placed finish last season.

While James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and co have been transformative summer signings, some supporters will be most delighted with the resurgence of Yves Bissouma, with the all-action midfielder now at the heart of the exploits after previously moored in mediocrity.

How is Yves Bissouma performing for Tottenham?

Tottenham signed Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion for £25m plus add-ons in the summer of 2022, with the Malian midfielder having dazzled on the south coast and earned praise as a "top-class player" who has "everything" by pundit Ray Parlour prior to his transfer.

Last season, he didn't hit the ground running and actually languished in tandem with Spurs, and it was a far cry from the player who had won the high-flying Seagulls' Player of the Year award just one year before, but tactically, he clearly needed time to get up to speed.

However, The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare has now proclaimed him to be among the club's "standout" performers this season, and he really has been immense in recycling possession and producing energetic, combative displays in the engine room.

As per Sofascore, the 27-year-old has completed 91% of his passes, made 3.3 tackles and 6.1 ball recoveries per game and succeeded with an incredible 77% of his dribbles, also winning 62% of his duels.

Picking up two yellow cards against Luton Town last time out, however, the £55k-per-week ace will now miss the forthcoming contest against Fulham in the top-flight on Monday evening, and Postecoglou will be most displeased after the player's integral work thus far this term.

As robust and omnipresent as they come, he ranks among the top 2% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 7% for passes attempted, the top 12% for progressive passes, the top 15% for progressive carries and the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.

While Bissouma's suspension leaves a hole in Tottenham's team, it does offer the opportunity for another star to swoop in and prove their worth, and it appears to be Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who is the man for the job.

How good is Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg?

The £100k-per-week ace has been a regular member of the starting line-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since signing from Southampton in a bargain £15m deal in 2019.

Indeed, Hojbjerg has made 153 displays for Tottenham, scoring ten goals and supplying 16 assists, though since Postecoglou's appointment, he has yet to play in the Premier League from the opening whistle, featuring in every top-flight contest since sitting the season opener against Brentford on the bench but introduced after the break on each occasion.

The 69-cap international is attracting interest from La Liga side Atletico Madrid and Italian giants Juventus, but whether either side would be willing to meet the Lilywhites' €30m (£26m) valuation remains to be seen.

Given that the 28-year-old is in the penultimate year of his contract with the Premier League club, there is every chance that he will be sold in the summer, or perhaps even January.

The indications certainly point to that conclusion, and while Bissouma is only sidelined for one match, Hojbjerg could make a marked impact with his metronomic presence.

While this is entirely speculative, Tottenham's social media acknowledgement of the Danish midfielder's resounding strike last time out hints that a starting berth may be provided on Monday night, and given that Bissouma is unquestionably sidelined, this could indeed prove to be the case.

And it's not exactly as if Hojbjerg is untested on Premier League soil; he may be out of sorts at present, but his qualities are well-suited to stifling a resolute Cottagers team, providing calmness and composure in the centre to allow his offensive-minded peers to flourish.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 17% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for pass completion, the top 14% for passes attempted, the top 18% for progressive passes, the top 19% for interceptions and the top 13% for clearances per 90.

He is a first-class distributor and while he is somewhat conservative in possession, he is effective as the fulcrum and will be hungry to impress after sitting on the fringe thus far.

Player

No. of Passes

Lewis Dunk

3,208

Rodri

2,977

Virgil van Dijk

2,581

Gabriel Magalhaes

2,396

Trent Alexander-Arnold

2,309

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

2,256

And who knows, perhaps a stellar showing against Marco Silva's outfit will work wonders in reestablishing him as an important component and proving to his manager that he can serve an important role.

Indeed, last season in the Premier League Hojbjerg completed 89% of his passes and averaged 0.9 key passes per game, as per Sofascore, and while the latter is nothing to write home about, it is not too shabby for a midfielder of deeper-lying placement.

For a phenom who has completed 225 appearances in the Premier League and has previously been hailed as a "monster" by former Denmark and Derby County midfielder Morten Bisgaard, who also remarked at his intelligence.

Spurs will be determined to maintain the early-season purple patch that tantalises something more, but if Spurs truly wish to announce themselves as new contenders they will need to demonstrate quality in rotation.

And with Hojbjerg ready to step in, the requisite midfield depth looks to be at Postecoglou's disposal.