Juventus scouted Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg over the weekend as Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur face a decision over the £26 million-rated Denmark international.
When it rains, it pours for Max Allegri.
The Juventus boss has already lost Paul Pogba – the former Manchester United playmaker suspended amid suspected doping breaches – and could now be about to say farewell to Nicolo Fagioli for ‘several months’ too amid another distracting, off-field issue (Gazzetta dello Sport).
As such, if a new midfielder was a priority before, it’s nothing short of a necessity now.
Juventus want Hojbjerg from Tottenham Hotspur
Gazzetta add that a scout working on behalf of Juventus watched Tottenham Hotspur’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as Denmark beat Kazakhstan 3-1 in European Championship qualifying on Saturday.
While overshadowed by a former Spurs ace – Christian Eriksen’s ‘divine’ assist the stand-out moment in the game – Hojbjerg was typically solid and stable on a rare 90 minute outing from a man who has fallen out of favour somewhat under new Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou.
It is believed that Tottenham want £26 million for the ex-Bayern Munich and Southampton man. Juventus would prefer to sign Hojbjerg on an initial loan deal, however. Allegri may be about to find out what Sir Alex Ferguson meant when he claimed that doing business with Daniel Levy made his hip replacement look relatively pain-free by comparison.
Hojbjerg is not, however, Juventus’ only midfield target. The 2017 Champions League runners-up are also keeping tabs on Borussia Monchengladbach’s Manu Kone, Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana, Nice’s Khephren Thuram, Udinese’s Lazar Samardzic and Habib Diarra of Strasbourg.
Two long-serving players could leave Spurs
Tottenham, meanwhile, appear open to offers for another player who – like Hojbjerg – was one of the first names on the team sheet not so long ago, Eric Dier out of contract and out of favour.
“If you are going to lead something, you go hard or you go home,” former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan tells talkSPORT (29 August, 11am) when asked about the potential sales of Hojbjerg and Dier.
“If (Postecoglou) doesn’t believe those profile of players fit the play that he wants, what’s the point of mucking about? He might as well get to the money shot, which is ‘you’re not going to play’.
“Get on with it, and be definitely right or definitely wrong. Hopefully definitely right. If Dier and Hojbjerg are not good enough in his view, move them out he should!”
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