Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg stripped of Marseille captaincy after rejecting Premier League swap
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has reportedly been eliminated as Marseille’s captain after rejecting a £15million switch to Newcastle final week.
Hojbjerg performed 90 minutes for the French facet in opposition to Atletico Madrid on Friday, however he did so with out the armband.
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French information outlet RMC Sport declare the Danish midfielder has been punished by membership chiefs for angering them together with his determination.
Newcastle approached Marseille to attempt to signal Hojbjerg as a possible substitute for Bruno Guimaraes.
The Magpies needed some additional expertise added to the squad after shedding their captain to Arsenal for £75m.
Nonetheless, Hojbjerg turned down the possibility to return to the Premier League in a deal that was set to be price £15m.
That will have annoyed Newcastle, but it surely has additionally left Marseille indignant, with proprietor Frank McCourt alleged to be fuming.
And a lot so, McCourt and the Ligue 1 facet’s administration are mentioned to have opted to strip their midfielder of captaincy, handing it to Timothy Weah as a substitute.
They reportedly needed the switch to occur to usher in some much-needed funds and cut back their wage invoice.
The membership need particular person pursuits to take a again seat to total pursuits – so to show that stance, they’ve punished Hojbjerg.
Might Hojbjerg nonetheless go away Marseille?
Hojbjerg’s full involvement in Marseille’s pleasant on Friday, regardless of not being captain, indicated he might nonetheless keep on the membership.
However there’s nonetheless curiosity from different groups in Europe, together with Serie A giants AC Milan, in line with experiences in Italy.
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Ruben Amorim might be trying so as to add some new faces to his squad amid a refresh of gamers following his appointment.
Amorim has not too long ago put Fikayo Tomori, Christopher Nkunku and Youssouf Fofana up on the market.
Ought to any of these gamers go away, notably midfielder Fofana, Milan might probably make a transfer for Hojbjerg.
Hojbjerg labelled ‘extremely common’
Hojbjerg has performed 254 Premier League video games all through his profession, starring for Tottenham and Southampton.
However the 31-year-old opted to not make a transfer again to England, leaving Newcastle having to take a look at different choices.
Nonetheless, talkSPORT’s Jeff Stelling does not assume the Magpies missed out on a lot by the Dane rejecting them.
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“I do know they needed expertise, he is 31 and he is carried out nicely at Marseille,” Stelling mentioned on talkSPORT Breakfast.
“However his final season at Tottenham, he made eight Premier League begins and did not play successive Premier League video games in any respect.
“I feel he is extremely common.”
Final season, Hojbjerg performed 43 video games for Marseille, scoring 5 targets and helping one other 5.
However his future on the membership stays unsure, notably now that he has misplaced the captain’s armband.
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