Southampton: Recent action from captain Hojbjerg gives big contract hint

A report has revealed that Southampton captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg recently changed his agent – giving a potentially big hint to where his future lies.

According to Danish news outlet BT (via Sports Witness), Hojbjerg’s off-field business is now managed by Pini Zahavi – a big name in the footballing world who has played a part in some huge transfer deals in the past.

The Saints midfielder was represented by former Danish international Soren Lerby but has now ended their dealings by signing up with Zahavi.

Zahavi currently has the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Kevin Trapp, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano as his clients and Hojbjerg has now added to that list.

However, the Dane joining his ‘stable’ may not be good news for Saints with the summer transfer window upcoming.

When a player changes agent – particularly for one as renowned in the football world as Zahavi – it could be a real sign that they want to leave and go onto bigger and better things.

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Notably, Robert Lewandowski signed up with Zahavi just before trying to force a move away from Bayern Munich and the agent is said to have a vast connection network throughout football.

Hojbjerg was linked to both Everton and Spurs in the winter transfer window, but Saints and Hojbjerg himself will know that he is probably capable of playing at an even higher level than that.

Any negotiations that go on during the summer will need to be on Saints’ terms given that their player is an important presence around the club at the moment.

It is obviously still a possibility that Zahavi’s arrival on the scene may bring about the signing of a new contract at St Mary’s – that is what happened with Lewandowski at Bayern after all.

With a potentially lucrative move in sight though, Hojbjerg’s new demands are likely to be too high for Saints to pay.

Rumours of moves will surely start to accumulate as we come towards the end of the season and it is therefore imperative that Saints get a good fee to replace their captain when they decide the time is right to sell.