Pierre Emile Hojbjerg turns down Newcastle United proposal

Well, that took a turn. After a weekend of momentum building, Pierre Emile Højbjerg's move to Newcastle is currently 'off.' 

Just hours after it looked like the club was closing in on the Marseille midfielder to fill the Bruno Guimaraes-shaped hole, the whole thing has hit the brakes after Højbjerg rejected the deal from Newcastle United. 

Fabrizio Romano reports that fresh talks in the last few hours have seen the deal fall apart, with the 31-year-old himself deciding to turn down our approach,

Newcastle were ready to stump up exactly what Marseille wanted, reports Romano. But, at least for now, it’s a no from the player. 

Højbjerg turns down Toon 

It looks like the window is going to repeat itself for Newcastle. Højbjerg has turned down the proposal from the club, though the reasons for that are not known. 

Whether that's about wages, game time, the project, or he just fancies staying put, we don't know yet. There have been reports that he wants a move to Milan, and honestly, all the public talk about the move doesn’t really line up with how Newcastle have operated this window.

Højbjerg off, but was it an agent move?

It’s another deal played out in public that Newcastle have not got done. There’s a trend here with such moves, and the Højbjerg one looks set to be going down the same road. 

Højbjerg would have brought a lot of valuable experience to the squad, though it’s fair to say the move had divided the fan base a fair bit. A move for Palhinha also looks unlikely, with Aston Villa in the mix.

Newcastle may go back in with Højbjerg, depending on what the issue is. Given his age, it could be a contract length issue? Maybe he wanted to be captain, or perhaps he has another offer - AC Milan have been linked - that he'd rather pursue.