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Tottenham confirm £15m Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as first summer signing

AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

Tottenham have made Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg their first summer signing in a deal worth £15million.

The midfielder has signed a five-year contract, with full-back Kyle Walker-Peters moving in the opposite direction for £12m after a successful loan with Southampton.

Jose Mourinho identified Hojbjerg as a key transfer target as the window approached as he looks to strengthen further this summer with defensive reinforcements.

Mourinho believes Hojbjerg can bring leadership to a Spurs squad that he has accused of lacking grit.

Everton also had interest in Hojbjerg, and saw a £25million bid accepted, but the midfielder made it clear he wanted to move to north London.

Hojbjerg recently spoke to the Football Ramble Daily podcast about how he sees himself as a player, which aligns with how Mourinho plans to use him in north London.

"I need to take the responsibility in the game to bring the A-game," he said in a podcast published in May. "My idea of playing, of who I was, was always taking responsibility, always in the difficult moments as well. But 'responsibility' is not always taking the ball and drilling past five guys and trying to score.

"My biggest strength is making other players better, you know. Supporting them, playing the right balls, doing the right runs, fighting for them, feeding them, analysing the game, reading the game, playing the game as it should be played."

Tottenham are understood to also be in the market for a right-back, with uncertainty over Serge Aurier's future, a centre-back and a striker.

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