Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was left out by Southampton on Sunday as the reported Everton and Tottenham Hotspur target was not ’100 per cent focused’ as speculation rages over his future, CEO Martin Semmens has told the BBC.
While a former Bayern Munich starlet has remained mature and professional throughout an unrelenting transfer saga, he is no robot.
Hojbjerg has shone at St Mary’s but the opportunity to take a step up the footballing ladder appears to have turned the head of a Denmark international.
The Telegraph reported last week that Everton have had a £25 million bid accepted, though north London now looks like the midfielder’s most likely destination with talks over a move to Spurs ongoing.
And, after being stripped of the captain’s armband due to his reluctance to extend a contract which will expire in 2021, Southampton continue to take a rather hard-line stance over the future of their former skipper.
“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,” Semmens explains after Hojbjerg was nowhere to be seen during Sunday’s 3-1 triumph over Sheffield United, translated by Hampshire Live.
“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.”
Tottenham have an ace up their sleeve as they look to beat Everton to the signature of one of the most influential central midfielders in the Premier League.
The Telegraph reports that Spurs will offer Southampton the chance to sign on-loan right-back Kyle Walker-Peters, with the London-born defender acting as something as a sweetener in one of the summer’s biggest transfer deals.
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