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It has certainly been a big 13 months for Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

In March 2018, Saints travelled to face Newcastle United in desperate need of some points in their battle against relegation from the Premier League.

The Dane started that day as Mauricio Pellegrino looked to mastermind an away win at St James' Park, but it turned out to be the performance and result that led to him getting the sack instead as the south coast outfit conceded in the second minute and found themselves 2-0 down at half-time.

They went on to lose 3-0 against their fellow strugglers with the Argentine manager accusing some of his players of giving up on Tyneside, and Hojbjerg was certainly one of those who didn't come out of the encounter with much credit.

He was awful in possession alongside Mario Lemina in the middle of the pitch as the duo were dominated by their opponents, while he completely lost Matt Ritchie for Newcastle's third goal on the day.

The impact Ralph Hasenhüttl has had at Southampton is certainly evident in the video below...

It has been a big turnaround from then until the present day for the 23-year-old, who has gone from a player who wasn't a regular starter and who was yet to win many Saints fans over, to one who is now captaining the south coast outfit and is very much in contention to win the club's player of the season award.

The Denmark international has been a colossus in the middle of the park for Saints and has started to add goals to his game – four goals in 26 Premier League appearances this season is proof of that – although he was a little off-colour with his passing against Wolves last Saturday.

Hojbjerg as the ideal chance to prove that he is a changed man when he makes his return to St James' Park on Saturday, with Ralph Hasenhuttl's men still in need of taking at least a point considering they are still four points short of the magic 40-point mark.