‘Numerous mini meetings’ held with Tottenham, Atletico Madrid discussing €45m transfer for midfielder Simeone loves

Atletico Madrid are growing in confidence they can seal the signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg amid claims Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has named his price for the Danish star.

A new era at Tottenham is underway with Aussie boss Ange Postecoglou hoping to steer the club back into a position of authority. Spurs lost their way fairly spectucularly during the 2022/23 season, letting slip a top-four spot to ultimately finish eighth.

Now without European football in any capacity, Postecoglou will, effectively, be starting with a blank template in N7.

To kick-off the new era, Spurs have quickly moved to strengthen their squad. Permanent deals for Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski were soon signed off, while Manor Soloman, James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario have soon followed.

However, a new manager usually means new ideas and Postecoglou will look to implement his high tempo brand of football at Spurs. Indeed, that approach served him well in Scotland where Celtic won five of the six domestic trophies available to him during his time in Glasgow.

And that approach will likely mean two players who were potentially seen as surplus to requirements having a fresh chance to prove their worth. To that end, Postecoglou already seemingly loves Yves Bissouma; a player who struggled in the Antonio Conte regime.

And Tanguy Ndombele is also set to be offered a fresh chance to impress, having return from a season’s loan at Napoli.

On the flip side, one player who Tottenham did rely on heavily last season and was one of their better performers was Hojbjerg.

The Dane made 44 appearances, scoring five goals and proving one of their more reliable players.

READ MORE ~ Harry Kane transfer: Colossal new bid coming, as Tottenham price that could convince Daniel Levy emerges

Hojbjerg talks over Atletico Madrid transfer stepping up

However, it’s emerged of late that Hojbjerg’s more pedestrian approach might not be entirely suitable to Postecoglou’s style. As a result, reports earlier this month suggested he is one of the names under consideration at Atletico Madrid.

Now alerted by Tottenham’s willingness to sell, AS claims talks over his transfer are now stepping up.

They claim Atleti boss Diego Simeone is determined to bring in a new defensive midfielder this summer. And describing the Dane as a favourite of the Argentine, he is the player the Spamnish giants are making their priority target.

Furthermore, officials from both clubs have reportedly held ‘numerous mini meetings’ around the potential deal.

And according to information obtained by AS, Tottenham have informed Atletico they are willing to sell the 27-year-old for a fee of €45m (£38.5m).

Atletico will, understandably, try and talk Spurs into accepting a lower fee, but their willingness to sell certainly provides encouragement.

The two clubs continue to negotiate with Simeone making clear his wish to sign Hojbjerg to club bosses.

Atletico’s chances of securing a deal, though, do depend on talking Spurs into a lower fee.

However, AS claims Hojbjerg has made clear his wish to make the move with Atletico able to offer the player Champions League football.

READ MORE – Tottenham transfers: Ange Postecoglou greenlights exit of key first team star as replacement waits in wings