Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been stripped of the Southampton captaincy after publicly expressing his desire to play at a "higher level".
The 24-year-old midfielder has held the armband since boss Ralhp Hasenhuttl's arrival at the club in December 2018.
Hojbjerg is considered a strong leader in the Saints dressing room, but his latest comments have persuaded Hasenhuttl to relieve him of his captain's duties.
James Ward-Prowse has been appointed captain as the Dane's replacement.
Tottenham have been linked with a move for Hojbjerg, who made it clear he sees his future away from St Mary's.
He told German media outlet SPORT1 last month: "I know what I want, the club knows it too.
“I want to play at an even higher level than I am currently. The relationship between me and Southampton is fantastic.
“The club gave me the platform to grow. I'm not saying 'Goodbye' and I'm focused on my club, but my goal is very clear: I want to win the Premier League and the Champions League."
Hojbjerg has been at Southampton almost four years, having signed from Bayern Munich in 2016.
It was at Munich where he got a taste of Champions League football and challenging for major honours, and he could now be offered that opportunity again at Spurs.
Southampton have slapped a £35million price tag on their wantaway star, but could find it difficult to command such a fee, given Hojbjerg's contract expires next year.
Transfer fees are likely to be affected by the current financial crisis, and Southampton may have to cut their losses on the player, rather than lose him for nothing next summer.
Everton have also shown an interest in Hojbjerg, and Southampton's chief executive Martin Semmens says the club will reluctantly let the player go if their asking price is met.
Semmens told BBC Radio Solent: "He's fully committed to getting through this season and winning those nine games. When it comes to the transfer window, it's a strange time.
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."
Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip.
