The 2020 summer transfer was a busy one for Tottenham Hotspur. The club brought in a new pair of full-backs, a backup striker to Harry Kane, a third choice goalkeeper after Michel Vorm left the club this summer, a backup centre-back, and a solid defensive midfielder. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was adjugated rightly as the best piece of transfer business.
But the outgoing of Oliver Skipp went a little under the radar and Norwich City have been the beneficiaries of his amazing talents. After getting just 298 minutes of competitive football last season, Skipp has been a revelation in this Norwich team featuring in all of the club’s 29 fixtures.
The defensive midfielder has completed 3.3 tackles & interceptions, along with 56 passes attempted with a pass accuracy of 87.5%. He has been influential in the way Norwich City plays with the possession and off it. Using his power and speed, Skipp basically transitions the ball from the midfield to attack although 0.6 dribbles & 0.8 key passes per game do not reflect the same.
Club captain Grant Hanley dubbed Skipp as a ‘top quality’ player. Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press he said, “Skippy’s got experience beyond his years really, he looks like he’s played at the top level for 10 or 15 years, it’s hard to think that he’s still so young. I know he gets a lot of credit but then he probably doesn’t get enough sometimes, because he does all the stuff that you love as a centre-half.”
Club chairman Daniel Levy’s investment in the academy continues to pay-off with talents like Skipp and Japhet Tanganga make for a good showing of the quality of players the academy is churning out. Getting Skipp regular and quality minutes was important for the club as the first team’s midfield depth has been a cause of concern for Jose Mourinho.
As for recalling Skipp in the middle of the season would be a wrong decision. Playing regular first-team football is the most important trait for the 20-year-old’s development and he is currently doing that. But we can imagine what a double pivot of Højbjerg and Skipp can create problems for the opposition next season!
