Despite playing just six minutes of Premier League football all season, Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was named in the starting XI as the south coast outfit faced Everton at St Mary's on Sunday.

The Denmark international hadn't featured from the beginning of a game for the first team since the win against Middlesbrough in May, and it was a rare opportunity for the 22-year-old to impress in the middle of the park with Oriol Romeu suspended and Mario Lemina deemed only fit enough for a spot on the substitutes' bench on his return from injury.

The former Bayern Munich man certainly took his chance and he was voted as the man of the match by the fans afterwards for his display in midfield, and he will be hoping to have sent manager Mauricio Pellegrino a huge message.

Meanwhile, West Ham United find themselves in a relegation battle right now and new boss David Moyes may be looking to make additions to his squad during the January transfer window in order to try and get his side away from the bottom three.

While the Irons have already been linked with potential deals for the likes of Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho and Bournemouth's Harry Arter, making a move for Hojbjerg instead could prove to be a very shrewd move.

Here are three reasons West Ham should look to sign the Dane in the New Year…

His Everton performance

The links to the likes of Carvalho and Arter in The Mirror suggest that Moyes is looking for a new central/defensive midfielder, and he would have been impressed if he saw Hojbjerg's performance against Everton.

The 22-year-old seemed to be everywhere on the pitch and as well as using his strength and tackling abilities to win the ball, he also showed the quality he has while he is in possession of it, too.

Southampton posted his match stats on their official Twitter account on Sunday, and it showed that he had an accuracy of 92% from 96 attempted passes, while he made four tackles, three interceptions and gained possession on 19 occasions in what was a fantastic all-action display.

His future is uncertain

While he may have impressed against Everton, the fact that was just his second appearance of the season and the fact that he appears to be behind Oriol Romeu, Mario Lemina and Steven Davis in the central midfield pecking order mean his future is still up in the air.

Speaking to the Southern Daily Echo after his man-of-the-match performance against the Toffees, Hojbjerg hinted that he could look to leave Southampton if he doesn't get regular playing time soon, and that should give West Ham and Moyes some hope that they could bring the Dane to the London Stadium.

Potential

Because of the maturity he has on the pitch and when he is conducting interviews off of it, it is easy to forget that Hojbjerg is just 22 years of age and younger than the likes of Jack Stephens, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond.

You certainly don't play for Bayern Munich and under Pep Guardiola unless you have something about you, and while things may not have gone right for the Denmark international over the last couple of years there is little doubt at the potential he has to go on and improve.

Having showcased his all-round midfield abilities against Everton, West Ham could be pulling off a huge coup if they manage to sign him in January.

Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.