Southampton: Saints chief admits club may need to sell Hojbjerg

Southampton face another tricky transfer situation as club captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg comes to the end of his contract.

The club know that he has significant value and will be attracting interest from many other clubs in Europe, but the 24-year-old seems unwilling to sign a new deal to stay on at St Mary’s.

Therefore, it is looking increasingly likely that Saints will be forced into a sale to avoid losing their asset for free next summer. Spurs have been heavily linked with a move for Hojbjerg, and it appears that important people at the club are realising they may need to cash in.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent on Saturday, CEO Martin Semmens commented on the situation by saying:

"“I saw Pierre this morning and spoke to him about it, and he is just fully committed to getting through the season and winning those nine games.“If there’s a club out there that can win the Champions League and they think Pierre can improve their team, if they can pay for him, then we have to let him go.”"

Importantly, Semmens echoes the thoughts of those in the club in saying that they know Hojbjerg will give everything for Saints up until the 2019/20 season is finished.

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His refreshing honesty also gives fans a realisation of the situation though and they will be fully prepared for a sale before the start of the next campaign.

Unfortunately, Saints find themselves in a real time of transition and the club is in need of a major rebuild under Ralph Hasenhuttl, who signed a new four-year deal on the South Coast recently.

In one or two years, they may well be back in the race for European qualification near the top of the Premier League. However, this looks to be too late for Hojbjerg to stick around.

The Dane is said to be a hungry and determined individual, and admitted that he wanted to play at the top level of the game soon in a recent interview with Danish media.

He will want to spend as much of his career back playing in the Champions League as possible and Saints will know that they cannot afford to let a player of his potential leave for free – especially after a Coronavirus pandemic that has stemmed many revenue streams for clubs all around the world.