Pierre-Emile Højbjerg had ‘wunderkind’ status when, as a 16-year-old, he joined Bayern Munich from Brøndby and was four months shy of his 18^th birthday in April 2013 when he became the youngest player to represent the German club in the Bundesliga. A few months after that Pep Guardiola took over from Jupp Heynckes as Bayern’s manager and speaking to the Guardian’s David Hytner in April 2018, Højbjerg gives huge credit to the future Manchester City manager’s influence on him. “Tactically, I made a big step under Pep” he says and although he only made 17 appearances across three title winning seasons – before loan moves to FC Augsburg and then Schalke 04 – which included the DFB-Pokal final in May 2014 when Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund were beaten.

Seven days later he won his first Danish full cap but both events were overshadowed by losing his father to cancer. It was a huge personal blow but Højbjerg, even as a young teenager had shown a strength of character, illustrated by his decision, aged 14 and not enjoying being utilised as a forward, to swap FC Copenhagen for arch rivals Brøndby – a move he likened to “changing from Everton to Liverpool”.

A fee of nearly £13m brought him to St Mary’s and on his debut , even though it was as a 55^th minute substitute he immediately caught the eye with the BBC praising

“his injection of pace and urgency”.

But under Claude Puel’s management it was not all plain sailing as he was in and out of the team, as he was, at first, the following season under Pellegrino. An articulate man and one not to shirk responsibility on or off the pitch, he was one of the few who showed grit as Saints embarked on their fight against relegation but he was not rewarded at international level and he was disappointed to be left out of their final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup.

Under Mark Hughes regime his impressive form led to him being made the captain of the team, a position he initially maintained under Ralph Hasenhuttl, but during the latter stages of 2019-20 he was replaced by James Ward-Prowse because with just one year remaining on his contract in the ensuing summer it became evident he was not interested in prolonging his stay on the south coast. In August 2020 he moved to Jose Mourinho’s Spurs for a fee which, including add-ons, approached £20m. One can’t quite escape the feeling that the two men are made for each other with Hojbjerg’s intensity and focus, especially in training, being right up the “Special One’s” street.