Southampton manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl, has hinted that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could be sold this summer, claiming that the club cannot allow players to leave on free transfers.
Hojbjerg has only one year left to run on his current contract with the Saints and has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham of late (Football Insider).
The 24-year-old has certainly not done much to rule out the possibility of him leaving the South Coast amidst the Tottenham rumours.
In fact, the Saints midfielder recently revealed that he has expressed a desire to play at a higher level to his current club (Sport 1).
The former Bayern Munich man has also admitted to being flattered by links with Spurs (Viaplay via BT), and even ‘liked’ a tweet last month that asked whether he would be the player to complete the Spurs midfield puzzle (Football.London).
Hasenhuttl admitted that it could be problematic for the midfielder to retain the Southampton captaincy without signing a new contract with the club.
Speaking to BBC Solent Sport, the Saints boss said: “It’s not good for him and I don’t think the situation would be good for him.
“As a captain, you cannot lead a team without extending your contract. This is always difficult.
“We must look at what we have. I think we should avoid letting players go without a transfer fee. This is what we should avoid.
“It’s not good to go into the last year of your contract – especially as a young player with a big future.
“This is not the ideal situation, but we have opportunities to handle it and we will have talks with other players and find a decision.”
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That certainly does not come across as if Hasenhuttl is confident that Hojbjerg will sign a contract extension with the club. It is clear, based on the midfielder’s admission, that he is looking to leave. If he does not extend his deal, Southampton will have no choice to but to sell him this summer.
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