'He's that anchor you need' - Hojbjerg compared to Makelele by ex-Tottenham star Bent

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been compared to Claude Makelele by former Tottenham striker Darren Bent, who describes him as the "anchor" that his old club had been missing.

Hojbjerg has been a fixture in Tottenham's starting XI since moving to north London from Southampton for £15 million ($20m) in August.

The 25-year-old was initially seen as an underwhelming signing, but has quickly established himself as one of the most important members of Jose Mourinho's squad, and already has 19 appearances to his name across all competitions.

The Denmark international's latest outing came in a derby clash against Arsenal on Sunday, which Spurs won 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Son Heung-min and Harry Kane .

Hojbjerg was instrumental in limiting the Gunners' attacking threat and breaking up play as Mourinho's side retained their place at the top of the Premier League table over the weekend, with closest rivals Liverpool and Chelsea also picking up three points over the weekend.

Bent has been pleasantly surprised by the impact the midfielder has made at his old club at the start of the season, having been among those to question his pedigree upon his arrival at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“I was one who questioned it,” the former Spurs striker told talkSPORT . “I thought, ‘If they want to go to the next level, why are they not signing better players?’

“He’s like that anchor you need in midfield, where everyone can be going chaotic around you, he’s the one who sits in front of that back four and does his job.”

Bent went on to draw similarities between Hojbjerg and ex-Chelsea duo Makelele and John Obi Mikel, with the former still widely regarded as one of the best holding players in history.

“He [Mourinho] had Claude Makelele as well," he added. 

"I think the biggest one who was underrated in that role was John Obi Mikel, he did that job so well.

“It’s the Mourinho way.”

Tottenham will now look ahead to a Europa League meeting with Antwerp on Thursday, before their focus shifts to another crucial Premier League encounter against Crystal Palace three days later.