Southampton have stripped Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of the captaincy amid talk of a summer move to Tottenham.
The midfielder will no longer wear the captain's armband when the 2019/20 season resumes, following a decision by boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Hojbjerg has made no secret of his desire to play at the highest level and Tottenham have been credited with an interest in him ahead of the summer transfer window opening, with Jose Mourinho keen to bolster his midfield options.
Saints CEO Martin Semmens admitted the club would not stand in his way if he wanted to leave this summer, with Hojbjerg about to enter the final year of his contract at St Mary's, with a £25million price tag on the Dutchman's shoulders.
Semmens said: "Let’s be clear about Pierre, he’s been absolutely upfront with us and everybody publicly that he sees himself at the very highest level of football.
"He wants to win the league, he wants to win the Champions League either with us or somebody else and at some point he’s going to either have to drive us to that level or move somewhere else to do it.
"If there’s a club out there that can win the Champions League and they think Pierre can improve their team, if they can pay for him then, in the end, we have to let him go."
Hasenhuttl previously stated that Hojbjerg would lose the captaincy if he went into the final year of his contract without agreeing a new deal, but the boss has acted early.
During his pre-match press conference ahead of the Norwich game on Thursday, Hasenhuttl told our friends at Hampshire Live that James Ward-Prowse would wear the captain's armband for the rest of the season.
