Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed that he and Southampton wanted to sell Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg back in the summer before he moved to Tottenham.
The former RB Leipzig boss told Kicker (via Hampshire Live): ‘We wanted to sell him because he only had one year of contract and didn’t want to renew. In return, we got Kyle Walker-Peters, an English youth national player from Tottenham.’
Hasenhuttl’s explanation makes sense. If Hojbjerg was refusing to renew his contract, then Southampton had to offload him rather than keep an unhappy player at St Mary’s.
The Austrian also got Walker-Peters in return, who has fared well so far this season.
Not as well as Hojbjerg, however.
The Denmark international has shone so far under Jose Mourinho’s tutelage, starting all eight of Tottenham’s Premier League games.
Spurs sit second thanks to Hojbjerg’s efforts, and his good work also extends into the Europa League where he has made three appearances, winning two games.
Club captain Hugo Lloris told Tottenham’s programme (via Football London) that the Dane has been ‘amazing’ ever since arriving at the club.
The Frenchman said: ‘Pierre has been doing an amazing job right from the beginning. He has had a big impact because of his personality, and he shows his ability and quality every day on the field.’
Hojbjerg has impressed with his industrial midfield showings which allow the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son to flourish.
WhoScored shows that the 25-year-old makes three tackles and two clearances per game in the Premier League this season.
He is also extremely efficient on the ball, recording an average of 82.4 passes per game in England’s top-flight.
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