PIERRE-EMILE Hojbjerg has dropped the biggest hint yet about where he sees his future.

The Saints captain is out of contract next summer and has revealed he wants to be playing at a “higher level” than he currently is.

Hojbjerg is said to have attracted interest from fellow Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and Everton but the Daily Echo is led to believe neither team has been in contact with the St Mary's hierarchy.

Speaking to German media outlet SPORT1 about his future, the Danish international said: "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 joined Saints from Bayern Munich back in 2016 and has gone on to become one of the club’s most important players.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl handed him the captaincy shortly after taking charge at St Mary’s in December 2018.

He worked under Pep Guardiola at Bayern but was unable to become a regular starter for the European giants.

This eventually led to him joining Saints after having loan spells at FC Augsburg and Schalke 04.

Since making the move to St Mary’s, Hojbjerg’s made 123 appearances and has scored five times.

Reflecting on leaving Bayern Munich for Saints, the midfielder said he wanted ‘write his own story’.

He added: “My biggest weakness during this time was my impatience.

“I wasn’t ready to wait a year, two or three years for my breakthrough. I wanted to be important right away. I was too emotional too.

“But how can I fail? I trained with the best players in the world between the ages of 17 and 20. I was in a school of champions. But I wanted to get out of there and write my own story.

“I gained a lot of experience so that I could move on to develop elsewhere. When I was 23 I became a captain in a Premier League club. Now I’m hungry to get to the next level.”