Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg joins Southampton from Bayern Munich
Southampton have signed midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Bayern Munich on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
He made his first-team debut for Bayern in April 2013, at the age of 17, becoming the youngest player ever to make an appearance for the club in the Bundesliga.
Højbjerg, who has already been capped 17 times by Denmark, also spent the last campaign on loan at Schalke, making 30 appearances for the German top-flight side.
#SaintsFC is delighted to announce it has signed Pierre-Emile Højbjerg from @FCBayern on a five-year contract: https://t.co/flXl8R42KS
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) July 11, 2016
He told the Southampton website: “I’m very pleased, it’s a big opportunity for me.
“I look forward to giving what I have and what I can to the club. They have put trust in me and I want to show them that they are not wrong.”
Executive director of football Les Reed said: “Pierre is an exciting young talent, who we are delighted to welcome to Southampton Football Club.
“Pierre boasts an impressive pedigree, as well as a great deal of potential, and it is testament to our reputation that he has chosen Southampton ahead of other suitors as the next step in his career.
“We believe the club will be an ideal place for Pierre to continue his progression and that he will be an excellent addition to our squad.
“We now have the perfect blend of positional strength, experience and dynamic youth in our midfield slots. There will be healthy competition, but also the required depth and robustness for our challenge in the Europa League.
“I believe as a group we probably have a choice from the best pool of midfield options in the Premier League.”
Hojbjerg added: “When I heard that Southampton came in for me, I said to my people that this is what I want to do, because I can see myself at Southampton, as it’s the way I like to think, the way I like to play and it fits me really well.
“I hope I can come here also and be a part of the Southampton family and give what I have to fight for the club and fight for my teammates.”
Hojbjerg becomes Southampton’s second signing of the summer, following their acquisition of Nathan Redmond from Norwich, but it was announced on Monday afternoon that Italy international forward Graziano Pelle had joined Chinese side Shandong Luneng.
