FORMER defender Danny Mills believes Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is the right fit for Everton.

The Toffees are reported to be one of the sides interested in signing Hojbjerg once the transfer window opens.

Saints’ captain will be entering the final 12 months of his St Mary’s contract and is yet to state his desire to sign a new deal.

That has led to the likes of Everton and Tottenham reportedly monitoring the midfielder’s situation ahead of a potential bidding war this summer.

And Mills, who represented England during his career, reckons Hojbjerg should head to Merseyside if he’s given the opportunity.

“He has been doing well for some time,” Mills told Football Insider.

“Southampton have often been a feeder club and it will all be about finances this summer.

“Everton will be asking, ‘Who can improve us?’, ‘Who can we make money on?’, and ‘Who is not going to cost the earth?’.

“I think he ticks all of those boxes.

“They are yet to replace Idrissa Gueye but they do have Gomes coming back to full fitness from injury as well.

“But there will not be a massive influx of new players coming into football clubs whenever this transfer window happens.”

Martin Semmens, Saints’ chief executive, recently said that the St Mary’s side wouldn’t stand in Hojbjerg’s way if a bigger club comes in and stumps up the cash for him.

But the Daily Echo is led to believe this is not something Saints want to drag on throughout the summer.

Tottenham have a history of taking transfers down to the wire to get the best price, but the South Coast outfit are keen to avoid this happening.

They want to have most of their business sorted sooner rather than later so they can start planning for the 2020/21 campaign.

Saints feel as though they’ll have more clarity on Hojbjerg’s situation a few weeks down the line.

But Semmens also made it clear in a recent interview that the Danish international will be fully focused on the remaining nine games and won’t let this be a distraction.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed he’d consider taking the captain’s armband off Hojbjerg if the midfielder remains at Saints but doesn’t sign a new contract.