According to The Telegraph, Real Madrid want to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
The Danish midfielder is being targeted by the European champions as a potential replacement for Casemiro as the Brazilian closes in on a move to Manchester United.
Hojbjerg has been a key player for Spurs over the past two seasons, being labelled as ‘very important’ to Tottenham by former manager Harry Redknapp.
However, as important as Hojbjerg is, when Real Madrid come calling it’s hard to say now.
Los Blancos are reportedly preparing a bid for the midfielder, but Spurs aren’t likely to let him go on the cheap.
Indeed, with three years left on his deal, Tottenham are under no pressure at all to sell.
However, if Hojbjerg was to leave, Spurs will have to replace him. Rodrigo Bentancur, Oliver Skipp and Yves Bissouma would be Antonio Conte’s remaining midfield options if Hojbjerg were to depart, and another body would have to be added into that mix.
Perhaps that’s where the links to the likes of Nicolo Zaniolo and James Maddison come in. While those two aren’t similar in profile to Hojbjerg, they can operate in the midfield, albeit in a more attacking manner.
With Casemiro seemingly on the verge of joining Manchester United, this could be one that accelerates rather quickly, and if there’s any club in world football that will be able to test Spurs’ resolve, it’s Real Madrid. After all, Tottenham have sold the likes of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale to the Spanish giants in the past.
Of course, if Hojberg were to join Madrid it wouldn’t be his first time playing for a so-called European superpower, the midfielder spent time at Bayern Munich before heading to England, so he shouldn’t have too much trouble adjusting to the high standards set at the Bernabeu.
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