Southampton captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has not been at his best so far this season. However, a position change may give him a new lease of life.

On the chalkboard

Since signing for the Saints in 2016 for £12.8m, the 33-time Denmark international has made 115 appearances for the south-coast club. Not only that, he has also been given the captain’s armband.

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The Saints are struggling this campaign, and the 24-year-old has managed an average WhoScored rating of just 6.73. A change of position, though, could give him an extra edge.

Move him to attacking midfield

This term, the former Bayern Munich man has mostly split his time on the field between central and defensive midfield. It is in the slightly more advanced role where he has played the most during his career though. According to those games where his position has been recorded by Transfermarkt, he has been used there 126 times.

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However, he has also played 19 matches at attacking midfield, as well, and has managed two goals and three assists in those fixtures. In terms of ratio, that is far better than his five goals and nine assists in central midfield and five goals and one assist in a more defensive role.

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He clearly has an eye for goal, as he showed during his time with Bayern II. During the 2012-13 season, he netted eight in 30 matches, and followed that up with four in 14 the next campaign before making the step up to the first team.

It may not seem like it at the moment, but here is a player who is comfortable in possession. He has regularly averaged a passing accuracy of over 85%, and he has also often managed over one dribble per match. These are skills that could transfer well to a more attacking position.

At the moment, Hasenhuttl’s team looks devoid of inspiration going forward other than Danny Ings. They need more of an edge in offence, and the former RB Leipzig boss should be brave. Deploying Hojbjerg further forward may just be what his team is crying out for.

In other news, one Southampton man is failing to put himself in the shop window whilst out on loan.