Report: Southampton’s £50,000-a-week ace is a target for Premier League rivals
Southampton will have to fend off Everton as they look to sign midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, according to reports.
The 24-year-old has been with us since 2016 after his £12.8m move from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and has been a regular part of our squad ever since.
Despite not contributing a lot when it comes to goals, he has played 33 games in all competitions during the current campaign, providing just one assist and starting 27 games in the Premier League.
With a year left on his current deal at St Mary’s, Hojbjerg’s position has alerted the likes of Everton, in which manager Carlo Ancelotti has taken an interest in taking him to Goodison Park, according to The Athletic.
Will Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leave Southampton?
The £50,000-a-week ace has been important for us this season, and the statistics that he has generated proves how hard he works in the middle of the park for the Saints.
The Danish midfielder has managed to average 2.4 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, three long balls and an average passing accuracy of 77.2%. Hojbjerg has been the versatile and aggressive midfielder that has been crucial to our progression under the watchful eye of Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Because of the above, it would be a huge loss for us to lose Hojbjerg, and yet another good player to add to the stacked list that has slipped through our fingers, such as Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, Gareth Bale, it goes on and on.
We have made the same mistakes too many times in the transfer market. Former Saints manager Mark Hughes previously said that Hojbjerg has brought an element of “discipline and intensity” that we have not had previously, and he is spot on.
More than ever, Southampton need to keep hold of the best players to kick on up the Premier League table.