Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has left Tottenham to join Ligue 1 club Marseille in a loan move with an obligation to buy, as confirmed by the Premier League club.
According to Sky Sports, Hojbjerg, who made 184 appearances for Spurs, would first join the Ligue 1 team on loan with an obligation to buy for £17 million.
Although Atletico Madrid and Fulham had also expressed interest in Hojbjerg, it is said that the player was eager to work with Roberto De Zerbi, the new manager of Marseille.
After Ange Postecoglou signed Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, the midfielder’s position in the team became uncertain, which became the reason of his departure.
The talks progressed swiftly, and the 28-year-old will spend the forthcoming season in France as part of a loan move before his deal becomes permanent.
Hojbjerg had begun the last year of his contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The midfielder was not in the plans of manager Postecoglou as he did not suit the playing style of the manager.
Due to this reason, he was not given a starting role last season by Postecoglou and it became clear that he would be allowed to leave the club.
At Marseille, he is going to play with Mason Greenwood and they both could soon be joined by Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah.
Hojbjerg was a reliable presence in the Tottenham midfield but with the arrival of new midfielders like Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur, he lost his place in the team and fell down the pecking order.
Tottenham are going through a major overhaul of the squad
With the departures of Joe Rodon, Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele, Ivan Perisic, Japhet Tanganga, and Ryan Sessegnon, Hojbjerg is now the seventh player to leave the team.
The Spurs manager is overseeing changes at the club in terms of personnel and wants to sign players who fit his philosophy.
After losing out on a place in the Champions League, Postecoglou is preparing his squad to challenge for the top four positon again next season.