RALPH HASENHUTTL has no concerns about playing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – despite stripping the Dane of the Southampton captaincy.
Hojbjerg, 24, has just 12 months left on his contract and has shown no intention of signing a new one.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has lost the armband after failing to sign a new contractCredit: Reuters
Saints are ready to cash in on the midfielder this summer to avoid losing him for free and have set the price at £35million.
Hasenhuttl wants a committed player to lead his side so has replaced Hojbjerg with James Ward-Prowse as skipper.
But the Austrian will not axe the ex-Bayern Munich ace from his team altogether as they head into the league resumption, beginning with Norwich away on Friday.
Hasenhuttl said: “I told him, ‘If you do not extend your contract, you cannot captain anymore this team’.
“He was very professional. He understands it absolutely.
“We wanted to make a clear decision before the first game. That’s the reason why we made the decision very quickly.
“If you want to be the captain, the leader of the team, you must be someone who is also here next season.
“There are no concerns about whether he should play or not – he knows he’s an important player for us.
“He still has a contract with this club and as long as he’s here, he’ll be a very important player for this team.”
Academy product Ward-Prowse was axed from the squad altogether for Hasenhuttl’s third game in charge – a 3-1 win at Huddersfield 18 months ago.
But the new skipper has become a key player under the ex-RB Leipzig chief since and is currently in talks over extending his contract.
Hasenhuttl added: “You can see how quickly things can change in football if you work on your deficits and work on yourself.
“The way he performed in the last months meant he was always the guy who gave the most in the team.
“He’s very positive to everybody and this is exactly what we need.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
