Southampton boss Hasenhuttl speaks on Hojbjerg’s future amidst Spurs rumours

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has refused to deny reports that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is on his way out of St Mary’s amidst heavy speculation linking him with a move to Tottenham.

Over the last few days, it is claimed that Everton have made a £25million offer for the midfielder’s services (talkSPORT).

However, it has been suggested that a move to Tottenham remains the 24-year-old’s preference, with the North Londoners said to be confident of getting the deal over the line (Guardian).

Hojbjerg has thrown more than a few hints that he would be open a to move to Spurs.

Apart from admitting to being flattered to be linked with the club a few months ago (Viaplay via BT), the midfielder has hinted with his social media activity that he could be North London bound.

The Saints star ‘liked’ a tweet in May that questioned if he was the missing piece of Tottenham’s midfield jigsaw, before ‘liking’ another tweet this week that said that he wants to move to Jose Mourinho’s side.

The former Bayern Munich man, who has just year left on his contract at the South Coast, has been stripped off his captaincy and he looks destined to leave the club this summer.

However, Hasenhuttl has insisted that he will pick the midfielder if he needs him for Southampton’s final game of the season against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

When asked if the rumours doing the rounds about the midfielder’s future would play a part in his selection decision, the Austrian coach told Football.London: “It is no problem for me.

“I never see him being unprofessional, he is focused for the weekend and knows we need him.

“This is the reason why he is focused so I have no issues.”

When asked if Hojbjerg’s departure was inevitable this summer, the Saints boss said: “I don’t know.

“I am not really using a lot of energy on this topic because my only goal is to find the right game plan for the weekend, to prepare my team.

“This is my job and all I have to do. All of the rest, there will be enough time after the game to speak about that. It is not something I really concentrated on.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Based on the noises we have been hearing from journalists close to Spurs, Everton and Southampton, it looks like Spurs are confident of singing Hojbjerg. We will probably see Kyle Walker-Peters moving the other way as a part of the deal and we might turn out to regret that decision, as the right-back seems to have come of age right with his performances since the restart.

If the deal does go ahead, only time will tell if Hojbjerg will be the answer to our issues in defensive midfield. Winks has done quite well over the past few games but there are issues with the defensive side of the game. While Hojbjerg certainly has his flaws, he might prove the right foil to hopefully bring the best out of the likes of Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli.

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