Atletico Madrid made it clear that they had one key target for the summer after the arrival of their free agent signings in July – a holding midfielder.
Publicly and privately the club manifested that desire, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg thought to be their key target. Even the addition of Manchester United to his list of suitors did not speed up Atletico’s pursuit, and eventually it became clear that until there was an exit of significance, no deal would happen.
Since, Yannick Carrasco has left for Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia to the tune of €15m, and Fabrizio Romano has told Caught Offside that he could still be a candidate for a move in January.
“It’s important to mention Hojbjerg situation. His contract with his agent ended so he’s ready to look for new opportunities; there’s a chance to move in January but it depends on Tottenham and how much they want for Pierre.”
Romano made the comments on his Substack column, exclusive to Caught Offside.
“He was on Atletico’s list in the summer, and he remains appreciated by the club; Man United considered him as backup option as a defensive midfielder but Amrabat was the only priority. Let’s see what happens with the new agent…”
One of the key reasons that Atletico wanted Hojbjerg in the first place was that they wanted both cover and competition for Koke Resurreccion. Youngster Pablo Barrios filled in admirably for a month while their captain was recovering, but now he himself is missing for the same length of time. Los Colchoneros may see it as a sign they can get by with just Barrios as cover, or a warning that they are too thin at the area.
