Southampton CEO Martin Semmens has admitted that he is open to allow Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leave this summer if a suitable club comes along with the right offer.
Speculation over the midfielder’s future has gone into overdrive over the past few weeks, with reports indicating that Everton have made a £25million offer for the Dane, who just has a year left to run on his contract on the south coast (talkSPORT).
However, it has been claimed that Spurs are still confident of securing the midfielder’s signature, with the 24-year-old preferring a move to Jose Mourinho’s side over the Toffees (Guardian).
Hojbjerg’s refusal to sign a new contract with Southampton saw him being stripped of his captaincy and the midfielder went on to lose his place in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
The Saints have hit a decent run of form in the former Bayern Munich man’s absence, with Hojbjerg failing to even make the matchday squad for their 3-1 win over Sheffield United on Sunday.
Semmens has admitted that the Southampton star was left out for the clash against the Blades as he was not ‘100 per cent focused’.
He told BBC Radio Solent (as relayed by Hampshire Live): “Pierre’s always said to us that he will be professional and do a great job every day that he is here, and he’s done that.
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“He’s played, he’s trained, he’s been great. But on top of that, he’s said all along that he feels that if given an opportunity he wants to play in the Champions League, if that opportunity came. And we’ve kind of respected that and left that door open.
“If he wants to move to another club and that club has the money and the ability to buy him, then we will have that discussion.
“Pierre should not be with the team today when he can’t be 100% focused. And again, to be fair to him, he’s done nothing but be 100% focused every day he’s been here, so to put him in a position where he’s not clear, it would be wrong to put him on the pitch.”
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Hojbjerg has clearly hinted that he would be open to a move to Tottenham and Southampton have now admitted that they will sell him if their valuation is met. It is now only a question of Spurs being able to agree on a fee but we know that negotiations are never straight-forward with Levy.
Normally, I would not be confident that we would be able to get the deal over the line. However, looking at how well Walker-Peters has done, I am sure Hasenhuttl would be desperate to sign the right-back. That potentially gives us a major advantage in trying to get the deal for Hojbjerg done.
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