Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League • England
Tottenham slam door on loan exit for in-demand star as Fabrizio Romano confirms stance
Giovani Lo Celso is being lined up for a Tottenham exit
Tottenham Hotspur will reject loan bids for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg during the January transfer window, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed.
Hojbjerg has been facing an uncertain future at Tottenham since Ange Postecoglou became their head coach over the summer. However, the midfielder remains in the Spurs squad and that could be the case until the end of the season at least.
As Romano has reiterated, Tottenham refused to let Hojbjerg leave via a loan deal in the summer when Atletico Madrid tried to take him on deadline day.
Their stance of opposing a loan exit for Hojbjerg will remain the same in January, despite interest developing from clubs like Juventus and Ajax.
Whether Tottenham could be open to selling the player instead – since he is only under contract until the end of next season – has not been explicitly clarified by Romano.
Even then, it would be a risk, since Tottenham will be without Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr throughout the Africa Cup of Nations, and Rodrigo Bentancur has suffered a new injury.
Therefore, it now looks likely that Tottenham will keep Hojbjerg until there is one year remaining on his contract.
There has not been too much talk in terms of a contract renewal, so this could be his last season at the club if they want to avoid losing him for free in 2025.
So far in the Postecoglou era, Hojbjerg has played 13 times, but only three of those appearances have been starts, one of which was in the Carabao Cup.
Tottenham standing firm with Hojbjerg
Hojbjerg’s overall record for Tottenham since joining from Southampton in 2020 includes 158 appearances – more than he has made for any of his previous employers – 10 goals and 16 assists.
Joining either Juventus or Ajax would have given Hojbjerg his first taste of Serie A or Eredivisie action, but if that possibility is to remain, they will have to get serious with permanent proposals.
Juventus’ interest may stem from the fact that Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli have received bans for doping and betting respectively.
Ajax also recently came into the equation after their turbulent start to the season. Hojbjerg has the kind of experience that could steady their ship.
But the situation is under Tottenham’s control and as things stand, Hojbjerg will not be moving out of the Premier League just yet.