Over the years, the Tottenham Hotspur faithful have been blessed by numerous partnerships that have handed them countless memorable moments on the field.
Harry Kane and Heung-min Son will no doubt be the first duo to pop into the minds of the fanbase, mainly due to their incredible performances together in North London.
The duo made themselves the best partnership in Premier League history, assisting one another for a combined total of 47 goals – over ten more than any other pairing in the division’s history.
As a result, the pair both rank within the top five goalscorers in Lilywhites history, with Kane topping the list on 280 goals, whilst Son sits fourth with his total of 173.
Despite the success of the aforementioned pair, one other duo failed to reach the same heights, leading to huge amounts of criticism from various pundits.
The failures of Skipp & Hojbjerg in Spurs’ midfield
In the 2021/22 season, under the guidance of Nuno Espírito Santo and Antonio Conte, a midfield duo of Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was often utilised.
However, such a decision would lead to the Lilywhites ending the campaign in fourth position, but it’s safe to say it could have been a whole lot better without the aforementioned pair.
Skipp ended the year with 18 Premier League appearances, but struggled to match the faith shown in him by various managers in North London.
He only ranked in the 19th percentile for chances created and the 8th percentile for dribbles completed – leading to the Englishman coming under fire for his lack of quality in possession.
As for Hojbjerg, he started all but two outings, but also struggled to provide any quality going forward, as seen by his measly tally of 0.7 chances created per 90.
The Dane also only won 1.2 tackles per 90, subsequently struggling to provide the quality in the area in which he was selected in the side to do in the capital.
Their lack of quality together led to former Spurs star Danny Rose to claim the pair were good players but were extremely “limited” in what they could offer the side in transition.
Former professional Perry Groves doubled down on the pair and stated that the duo were “like a double appendix” – even describing them as “useless” when operating alongside one another.
However, in the present day, boss Thomas Frank has been presented with a similar scenario with two players who have struggled to provide the goods in 2025/26.
The Spurs stars who are looking like the new Skipp & Hojbjerg
After taking the reins in the summer transfer window, there’s no disputing that new boss Frank would need time to settle into the role at Spurs to discover his best starting eleven.
To aid his chances of success in North London, the board handed the Dane over £100m worth of funds to make the changes he craved to his first-team squad.
Such a decision made his bedding-in period somewhat trickier, leaving him with the prospect of integrating the players into the current crop of talents on the books.
However, he did decide to secure the services of Joao Palinhina on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich, with the Portuguese international making an immediate impact for the Lilywhites.
He’s already scored twice for the club, whilst offering the needed ball-winning presence the side massively lacked under Ange Postecoglou last campaign.
The 30-year-old has often been partnered alongside the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Pape Sarr at the heart of the side – with the duo offering a progressive partner alongside him.
However, Frank opted to utilise Rodrigo Bentancur alongside him against Monaco on Wednesday night, but it was a decision that ultimately proved to be the wrong one.
The duo, who earn a combined £210k-per-week, struggled to impose themselves on proceedings – often being criticised for being too defensive-minded and struggling in transition.
They only registered a total of six combined passes into the final third, whilst only completing a total of one dribble – highlighting that the criticism was rightly warranted.
Touches
79
Passes completed
48
Passes into final third
6
Dribbles completed
1
Shots registered
0
Times dispossessed
4
Times dribbled past
4
Other figures, such as zero shots and four times dispossesse,d also highlight the struggles the pair faced against the French side, with Frank needing to take immediate action and operate a different duo.
There’s no denying, Palhinha has done enough to warrant his place in the starting eleven, but he desperately needs a more mobile and transitional player alongside him to bring added success to the club.
Should the manager struggle to identify such a problem, it could see a repeat of the Skipp and Hojbjerg partnership, which saw the side massively struggle under Conte’s guidance.