'Could leave' - Tottenham hit with £17m Fabrizio Romano update

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg could leave North London this summer with a behind-the-scenes move perhaps pointing to intentions of switching clubs.

That's according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, with the reporter claiming that Højbjerg had 'recently signed' with a new agency in USG Italy 'in order to assess all the options' ahead of the summer transfer window. The Danish international has been at Spurs since arriving at the club from Southampton in 2020 and has made 175 appearances for the side.

Højbjerg broke into professional football with German giants Bayern Munich and had enjoyed loan spells with FC Augsburg and Schalke 04 before moving to the UK. He has been a regular feature for Spurs under Ange Postecoglou this season but his role has often been in small parts from the bench with Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr preferred in the starting XI. The 28-year-old is reported to be worth around £17 million by Tranfermarkt.

Højbjerg had been linked with a move to Ajax late last year and Italian giants Juventus had also emerged as potential suitors for the defensive midfielder, according to talkSPORT in December. The outlet reported that the midfielder is 'not seen as a crucial player' for Spurs and that Juventus had looked at the midfielder as an alternative to Manchester City man Kalvin Phillips, who had also been linked with a Serie A switch before joining West Ham.

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Postecoglou had been asked about Højbjerg's future at the club in January and had pointed to needing a big squad at Tottenham Hotspur to challenge at the top of the Premier League. He said: "With all the players, I look at it the same way. As much as I’m steering this ship, they also have their own. I speak to players about this all the time. It’s their careers and they have to do what they feel is right as well. From my perspective, I need a strong squad. Maybe this year without being in Europe and obviously being out of the cups, the games now are limited to between now and the end of the year.

"But if we want to get to where we want to, then I compare us to the other clubs that we want to try and challenge. They’ve got big squads. They’ve got some pretty good players not starting. I look at it every week when they make substitutions. That’s where we’ve got to get to.

"Whether that’s Bryan or Pierre who maybe feel they should be playing more, if they made a decision that 'I need to go somewhere else to play', I’m going to replace them with somebody who is going to be a good enough player to play in the Premier League but maybe won’t start, because you need that."