Tottenham have reportedly been caught by surprise by Southampton’s initial asking price for midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
The Times understands that the Saints have informed Spurs it would cost us £35m for the 24-year-old but Spurs were only hoping to pay £20m.
This would usually be an opportune time to bash the stinginess of Daniel Levy but in this case I think he’s judged the market absolutely perfectly.
Hojbjerg is approaching the final year of his contract and clubs are not in a position to let players walk away for free amid the Covid-19 chaos.
Defensive midfielders don’t tend to command premium prices, especially those at clubs in the bottom half of the Premier League. Hojbjerg has been a solid player for a few years now and would be a good fit in our midfield, but it’s not as though he’s been one of the best in his position in the division.
Southampton are playing hard-ball. Then again, wouldn’t you when every decent player you’ve had in a decade has been lured away from you.
A feeling I remember all too well…
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I have never seen him but from what I have read he can help shield our flakey defence so bring him in Dan
Kwp for £15mil and a sell on clause. Their balls are in your hand Daniel. Squeeze them🌚
Kwp for £15mil and a sell on clause. Their balls are in your hand Daniel. Squeeze them🌚
That makes sense to me.
Solid player but I am unsure that he is really going to take us to the next level.
Although in this case I’d be gutted about if we spent all our budget on Hoijberg. Worth hanging on to save money I think.
The problem is the transfer will drag on until the end of the window – whenever that will be. Southampton will understandably want to see if anyone comes in with a higher bid so they won’t accept ours. As time runs out if ours is the only viable bid, they may be forced to accept it, or they can hang on until January and receive a smaller fee.
An example of Levynomics. Price the players you want to sell at double their market value, and offer the selling club half the price they want for their player.