---
title: "Tottenham Hotspur: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg tipped for summer exit"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/hojbjerg-tipped-spurs-exit-kevin-phillips-roma-mourinho/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Will Seager"
section: "Premier League"
published: "2022-02-21T18:05:56Z"
modified: "2022-02-21T18:05:56Z"
---

# Tottenham Hotspur: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg tipped for summer exit

**Sky Sports pundit Kevin Phillips has tipped Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to make the move to AS Roma in the summer transfer window.**

### The Lowdown: Important to Tottenham

The 26-year-old joined Tottenham from Southampton in 2020 in a deal worth [£15m](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/12046253/pierre-emile-hojbjerg-tottenham-complete-signing-of-southampton-midfielder). Since then, the Denmark international has gone on to play an important part in Spurs’ midfield, having amassed [85 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/pierre-emile-hojbjerg/leistungsdaten/spieler/167799) for the club.

Hojbjerg has predominantly been used as a ball-winning defensive midfielder this season, having appeared in that role [22 times](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/pierre-emile-hojbjerg/leistungsdaten/spieler/167799), averaging 2.1 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game (via [WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/30/Show/England-Tottenham)). Those figures rank him fourth and joint-second among Spurs’ squad for those respective metrics.

The midfielder has been ranked as Tottenham’s second-best player of the campaign so far, with a [7.14 SofaScore rating](https://www.sofascore.com/team/football/tottenham/33) trumping star striker Harry Kane and bettered only by Heung-min Son.

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### The Latest: Phillips tips Hojbjerg for Roma move

Last summer, [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-mourinho-plans-to-lure-phenomenal-tottenham-star-hojbjerg-to-roma/) reported that Roma manager Jose Mourinho was keen on a reunion with the Spurs midfielder, who the 59-year-old knows from his stint in north London.

Phillips, who appears as a pundit on [Sky Sports](https://icdb.tv/stats/3186/Kevin-Phillips), has now claimed that the decisive factor over the Dane’s future is the amount of game-time he receives before the end of the season. Speaking with [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/tottenham-news-pierre-emile-hojbjerg-tipped-for-summer-exit-as-update-reported-pundit/), he said:

*“I can see that happening \[a move to AS Roma\].* *Mourinho really likes him as a player. You could tell that when they were together at Spurs.*

*“He sits in front of that back four and breaks up the play well. Mourinho likes that kind of midfielder.*

*“I think Italy would suit him as well. It is not as quick as the Premier League, not that the pace of the Premier League is a problem to him. Hojbjerg is very aggressive in his play and can occasionally chip in with a goal.*

*“It just depends if he’s going to play regularly under Conte. Conte will have decided by the end of the season who he wants at the club. If Hojbjerg’s not a big part of the plans I can see him leaving for Roma, for sure.”*

### The Verdict: Blow for Conte

Conte may have found his starting midfield partnership following Spurs’ dramatic [3-2 win over Manchester City](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60357463) on Saturday.

Whilst it was Harry Kane who stole the show with a [95th–minute winner](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60357463), Hojbjerg and Bentancur’s double pivot held Spurs together in the midfield. The [52-cap Denmark international](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/pierre-emile-hojbjerg/leistungsdaten/spieler/167799) made [three tackles and two clearances](https://www.sofascore.com/tottenham-manchester-city/rI), illustrating why he should be a guaranteed inclusion in Conte’s starting XI.

If Mourinho proves successful in his pursuit of the player, this will come as a huge blow for the current Spurs boss, who utilises a [wing-back formation](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/12464465/antonio-contes-tottenham-impact-wing-backs-overlapping-centre-backs-and-increased-work-rate-at-everton) which requires two holding midfielders to control the game.

Having been [benched just once under Conte in league action](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/pierre-emile-hojbjerg/leistungsdatentrainer/spieler/167799/plus/0/saison/2021/verein/148/trainer_id/3517), it appears that the Italian values Hojbjerg just as highly as Mourinho does. Therefore, if the Dane opts to reunite with his former manager in Rome, it would be a massive blow for the 52-year-old.

***In other news: [Spurs not planning on contract talks with star player](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tottenham-hotspur-news/spurs-harry-kane-contract-latest-conte-ornstein/)***