Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed when he will speak to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg about his contract situation.
Hasenhuttl says that he will not have any discussions about new contracts with any players until the club hit 36 points in the Premier League.
According to Sky Sports, Tottenham and Arsenal are both interested in a summer deal for the midfielder, who has 18 months left on his deal at St. Mary’s.
Speaking to The Daily Echo about Hojbjerg, Hasenhuttl said:
No news on this because there’s no speaking of any contracts before we have 36 points.
It was a good decision to do this because the main thing is playing better and investing more. The rest will come.
He enjoys playing in the team at the moment, he sees we’re in a good way and as a captain, he’s responsible also.
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The Saints are currently on 31 points after 25 matches, which means that they could hit the 36 point mark over the next few weeks if they are able to string together some positive results. It is important that Southampton deal with Hojbjerg’s situation, because of how crucial he has been to the team on the pitch this season.
Hojbjerg currently ranks third in Southampton’s squad for WhoScored ratings this season, showing how consistent he has been in the Premier League.
Only Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse are ahead of him, proving that he is one of Southampton’s top-performing players.
This is why Southampton need to hit that 36-point target as soon as possible so they cac begin discussions with Hojbjerg over an extention, so that they can avoid losing him to Tottenham or Arsenal in the summer.
If they allow the midfielder to wind down his contract it will likely become harder to convince him to stay, due to him – as things currenltly stand – being able to speak to foreign clubs in January 2021 to sign a pre-contract agreement.
