Whilst most of Tottenham Hotspur's focus will be on incomings in the January transfer window, Ange Postecoglou's side could still do with sanctioning some departures to clear some space for new arrivals. The Lilywhites saw the headlines dominated by Harry Kane's departure in the summer transfer window and will no doubt be looking to avoid another high-profile exit. Instead, they could look to show the exit door to those on the cusp of Postecoglou's squad and unlikely to find adequate game time in North London.
With that said, reports suggest that Spurs could now lose one particular midfielder with his talks with a European club underway ahead of a potential winter move.
Tottenham transfer news
Spurs used the money gained from the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich to fund deals for the likes of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, improving all round as a result. Now, as things stand, the North London side sit fifth and just one point adrift of Arsenal in the final top four spot in the Premier League. If Spurs can qualify for the Champions League in Postecoglou's first season in charge, then it will be seen as the ultimate success. To do that though, they may need reinforcements and those may not arrive without January departures.
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According to Gazzetta via Football Italia, Napoli have opened talks with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg over a January move. The Italian giants have already been busy this month, with Pasquale Mazzocchi reportedly set for a medical and a verbal agreement reportedly reached to sign Udinese midfielder Lazar Samardzic.
Not stopping there, the Serie A champions have seemingly turned their attention towards England and are weighing up a move for either Hojbjerg or Leicester City loanee Boubakary Soumaré. Given that the Spurs man is currently out-of-favour, a move could suit all parties, and the Italian outfit have apparently already begun talks with his camp.
"Excellent" Hojbjerg should make Napoli move
With a new era underway at Spurs, if Hojbjerg wants to be starting games ahead of Euro 2024 then he should move on this month. The Denmark international has struggled to break into Postecoglou's side this season and the chance to play for the Italian champions is not one he should turn down, should the opportunity arise.
Hojbjerg's playing time tells the story quite simply – the 28-year-old has started just four Premier League games all season and a total of five in all competitions in a frustrating period.
Full of praise for the out-of-favour midfielder nonetheless, Postecoglou said after Spurs' 3-3 draw against Manchester City this season: “I think it helped. I thought Pierre was excellent in the second half. His experience out there, I thought we just as a group had a lot more conviction about our football, just passing it and not second guessing ourselves and being hesitant with our passes like we did in the first half."
With that said and when considering Spurs' lack of squad depth, it remains to be seen whether Hojbjerg will get a departure from North London this month amid Napoli's reported interest.
