Journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke has stated that he believes Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is exhausted. 

Spurs welcomed Manchester United to north London on Sunday afternoon and despite taking the lead prior to half-time, the Lilywhites suffered a 3-1 defeat. 

The Athletic's Tottenham correspondent Pitt-Brooke has had his say on one Spurs star who seemingly struggled against the Red Devils. 

What did Pitt-Brooke say?

On The Athletic's discussion page, one fan criticised the Dane and boldly stated that he embarrassed himself yet again against top-level opposition. 

Pitt-Brooke leapt to the midfielder's defence and said, "I just think he is exhausted".

How did Hojbjerg perform against United? 

Despite the fan criticism, the holding midfielder appeared to be one of Tottenham's top performers against United. According to WhoScored, only Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min provided a higher average rating. 

Nevertheless, it's important to note that Tottenham underperformed against United and this probably wasn't one of Hojbjerg's best displays in a Spurs shirt. 

So far this season, Hojbjerg has earned an average WhoScored rating of 6.96 and has been vital part of Jose Mourinho's side. 

Why is Hojbjerg exhausted? 

The 25-year-old is a favourite of Mourinho's, as he was reportedly identified by the manager himself ahead of arriving last summer. 

Since his move, Hojbjerg has made 31 Premier League appearances and played 2,790 top flight minutes for the Lilywhites. This is the joint-highest in the squad alongside goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, according to WhoScored. 

The Dane hasn't missed a single Premier League fixture this season and when also including outings in the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup, the holding midfielder has made a total of 45 appearances already this season. 

What does Mourinho need to do? 

Hojbjerg has been a key performer for Spurs this season but it's clear to see that Mourinho places too much reliance on the holding midfielder.

To get the best out of Hojbjerg, he needs to be occasionally rested for a few less important fixtures.

Harry Winks is capable of filling that position and demonstrated his ability in the Europa League. Across eight outings, Winks sat in the holding midfield role and provided a WhoScored average rating of 7.14. 

To get the best out of Hojbjerg and this Tottenham squad, rotation in midfield is a must.