Paratici set for Spurs disaster on £58.5m-rated "monster" whose "simplicity is genius" - opinion

Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is attracting increasing interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claimed that Jose Mourinho is desperate to bring the 26-year-old to AS Roma this summer. The former Tottenham manager is said to be more than willing to work with the Denmark international once again at the Stadio Olimpico.

However, the report added that, because of Antonio Conte’s fondness for the midfielder, Spurs would demand a figure in the region of €40m (£33.5m) in order to part with the former Southampton colossus at the end of the current campaign.

Considering just how important a part of Conte’s side Hojbjerg has become since the Italian’s arrival in north London last November, it is an easy argument to make that Fabio Paratici sanctioning the £33.5m sale of the 26-year-old this summer would be something of a disaster by Tottenham’s sporting director.

Indeed, in the 19 Premier League fixtures that the 52-year-old has overseen at Spurs, Hojbjerg has featured in all but two, He was unavailable for the 2-2 draw with Liverpool in December and left on the bench in the 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in February.

Furthermore, over his 27 league outings in total this term, the £58.5m-rated destroyer has been one of Tottenham’s standout performers. He has scored two goals, registered two assists and created three big chances for his team-mates, averaging 1.3 interceptions and 2.3 tackles and winning 5.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £100k-per-week “monster” – in the words of Morten Bisgaard – average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.17, ranking him as Conte’s fourth-best player in