Will Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg be a good signing for Southampton?

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Another summer of change at St. Mary’s stadium is well underway. New manager Claude Puel has joined the club from Nice, replacing Ronald Koeman who defected to Everton, and it appears as if a second signing will be following Nathan Redmond through the door in the shape of Bayern Munich midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after his agent claimed “yes I can confirm that Pierre will switch to Southampton.”

The deal; which is set to cost Southampton £12 million, will see the midfielder play outside of Germany for the first time in his professional career. Still a month short of his 21st birthday, the Dane has spent his entire professional career as a Bayern Munich player, but has had loan spells in the last couple of seasons with Augsburg and Schalke.

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So, what will Southampton be receiving for their money? Hojbjerg is an exciting talent who is comfortable both defending and attacking. A technical player with an eye for a pass, he made his debut for Bayern at just 17 under Pep Guardiola, showing just how highly regarded he was as a youngster. He then had a spell on loan at Augsburg, where he impressed massively in helping the Bavarian side to the Europa League. For a teenager, these were some impressive achievements.

His time at Schalke was not exactly a huge success, starting just 13 matches is the Bundesliga, but it was also not bad enough to mount any sort of legitimate claim that he is starting to struggle. At just 20, he is still incredibly young, and performed better than many experienced players as Schalke dropped off the pace of the top four in Germany. It was a testing time for Hojbjerg, but he is young enough to take it on the chin.

Southampton is renowned for being a great place for young players, though, and Hojbjerg will really benefit from being at the club. With Europa League football to look forward to and Victor Wanyama departing for Tottenham, there will be plenty of opportunity for game time at St. Mary’s.

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Furthermore, standing at over 6 feet tall, Hojbjerg could be the perfect partner for the diminutive but tenacious Jordy Clasie. Both players will not be afraid to get stuck in, but are also confident and competent in possession. Questions have been raised about Hojbjerg’s physical strength, and whether he has the ability to cope with the rigours of the Premier League. He may struggle initially, but he should be a more than capable Premier League athlete within a few months.

Then, there is the fee. £12 million is not a lot in today’s money, especially when considering Southampton raked in £30 million for Sadio Mane, and Hojbjerg has the potential to be worth more than that in the next few years if he keeps on developing. With no prospect of game time at Bayern Munich, especially after the signing of Renato Sanches, it appears to be a sensible move for everyone.

Bayern have got some decent money, Southampton have got a very good player for the roughly the same price they sold Wanyama for, and Hojbjerg has an opportunity to establish himself at one of the Premier League’s up and coming clubs. A good move for all.

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