Boss of Spurs-linked £50k-a-week ace says his club has ‘no chance’ if big sides want his players

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Amid increasing speculation linking Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has admitted that he’s “scared” of his best-performing players being targeted by other clubs.

Hojbjerg previously played under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, winning the Champions League and four Bundesliga titles, before joining the Saints in the summer of 2016 for a reported £12.8million (BBC Sport).

The 24-year-old has made 132 appearances for the south coast side, scoring five goals and registering six assists (Transfermarkt), but with his £50,000-a-week contract expiring in 2021, interest appears to have arisen in the former Saints captain.

With the English summer transfer window approaching, the likes of the Evening Standard and The Guardian have reiterated interest from Spurs in Hojbjerg, whose future at St Mary’s Stadium appears ever closer to an end.

“I’m always scared that players playing well in our team are interesting for others,” Hasenhuttl is quoted by the Evening Standard as saying.

“But this is our situation we have to live with. It’s normal for us. We are a developing club. We develop players who are young but we also develop players who are a little bit older.

“If they then outperform and another club comes and says, ‘He’s interesting for us’, then we cannot stop them going. This is normal for us.

“The players know what they have with us. If a big club comes and wants to sign them, even if he has a (long) contract we have no chance to compete with them. But that’s not a problem. This is part of the business.”

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Hojbjerg is a high-calibre player with an impressive CV, a dynamic, tenacious midfielder with great passing, vision, an eye for goal and leadership skills, as proven by his captain’s armband at Premier League level.

Spurs need more steel in midfield and the Dane looks a great fit for Mourinho’s side, and given his contract at Southampton runs out next summer – not to mention potential interest from the Saints in Kyle Walker-Peters – he shouldn’t be overly expensive either.