#23 Pierre-Emile HØJBJERG



Former clubs: 
Bayern Munich, FC Schalke 04 (loan), FC Augsburg (loan)

Early years

As a youth team player he represented BK Skjold and F.C. Copenhagen before moving on to Brøndby IF at age 14.

In 2011, Højbjerg won the Danish under-17 player of the year award; a prize previously won by Christian Eriksen and Nicklas Bendtner who have also played in English football. Former Southampton man Ronnie Ekelund also achieved that honour with Brøndby back in 1988.

Move to Germany

He was signed by Bayern in July 2012, and made his debut for them later that season as a 17 year-old against 1. FC Nürnberg, and in doing so, became the youngest player ever to play for them at first team level in the Bundesliga. It was therefore little surprise that he was named as Danish talent of the year in 2013.

After splitting his time between the reserves and the first team, in May 2014, manager Pep Guardiola handed Højbjerg a start in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) final which saw Bayern claim a 2–0 extra-time win over Borussia Dortmund. 

He finished the 2013/14 season with nine appearances for the first team and four goals from 14 appearances for the reserves.

Bayern breakthrough

The following campaign brought his first taste of Champions League football and another dozen or so appearances for Bayern’s first team, before he was loaned out to FC Augsburg whom he helped to Europa League qualification, providing an assist for the winning goal against his parent club in the closing stages of the campaign.

Two goals in 16 appearances for Augsburg set up a season-long loan move to FC Schalke 04 for whom he played over 30 times in all competitions last season including the Europa League, with two goals scored in the Bundesliga.

Back at Bayern, manager Pep Guardiola had been impressed by what he had seen from the Dane and liked his style of play to that of Sergio Busquets for his ability on the ball and natural positioning on the pitch.

Move to Southampton

Although contracted to Bayern until 2018, the departure of his mentor Guardiola to Manchester City, coupled with his own desire for a “fresh challenge” saw Højbjerg scour clubs in Europe to take the next step in his career with.

Having searched for a team that would not only match his ambition but also give him an opportunity to develop, Højbjerg completed a move to Southampton in the summer of 2016.

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