Sporting CP are ready to accept less than Morten Hjulmand’s €80m release clause amid Tottenham interest
With the winter window out of the way, Tottenham Hotspur have already started laying bricks for the upcoming summer transfer window and they have been seemingly looking at options to reinforce the midfield unit.
Spurs lost Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Giovani Lo Celso last summer, and while their departures were offset by the acquisition of young talents like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, they need to increase the depth in the middle of the park to challenge for Champions League spots and trophies.
Ange Postecoglou has endured a difficult campaign because of consistent injuries to his players. The midfield unit was relatively less affected as compared to the defence and the attack. Yet, with the likes of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur about to enter the final year of their contracts, the Lilywhites are planning to move the former on and replace him with a younger talent.
According to Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias (h/t Sport Witness), Sporting CP’s Morten Hjulmand is one of the names on Tottenham’s wishlist ahead of the summer transfer window.
Morten Hjulmand has developed into a fantastic defensive midfielder in the last couple of years. He has been a regular for Sporting CP since joining them from Serie A side Lecce in August 2023, racking up 85 appearances across all competitions thus far. The skipper of this Sporting side, the Dane has registered three goals and an assist in 36 appearances across all competitions this season.
Given his growing reputation, Sporting are wary that it would be Hjulmand beyond this season and are thus ready to listen to offers for the player. Although the Denmark international’s contract contains an €80m release clause, the aforementioned (h/t Sport Witness) report adds that the Lions are willing to accept a lower fee.
This should be a big boost for Tottenham in their pursuit of the 25-year-old, but they will face competition from Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United in the summer. As Amorim coached Hjulmand for a season at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, Man United may have a slight advantage over Spurs in the race for the player’s signature.
In the grand scheme of things, Tottenham have an exciting project with young talents arriving at the club and academy kids being promoted to the first team in the last couple of seasons under Postecoglou. In comparison, United have been an utter mess both on and off the field. They have also not really shown signs of progression under a winning coach like Amorim—a factor that could come into play for Hjulmand when deciding his next destination.
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A player of Hjulmand’s quality and tactical mind would enhance the Lilywhites’ squad, whilst being a solid upgrade on Bissouma. Now that Sporting are lowering their demands for the Danish midfielder, Tottenham must do everything possible to beat Man United to his signature.