Early career While initially playing for
Skjold and
KB he moved to
Brøndby as a junior player at age 14. He looks up to
Zinedine Zidane as his role model. Aged just 5, Højbjerg began attending training sessions with his six-year-old brother at local club Skjold. He was deployed as a striker by Copenhagen. Starting from his debut, Højbjerg plays as a central midfielder and sometimes right wide midfielder. He has since switched to a defensive midfield role. In 2011, Højbjerg was honoured with the title "Danish under-17 player of the year". and, at the age of 17 years and 251 days, made his professional debut on 13 April 2013 as a substitute for
Xherdan Shaqiri In December of that year, he was in the Bayern squad which won the
2013 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, although he did not enter the field of play during the tournament. On 17 May 2014, Højbjerg started the
DFB-Pokal final for Bayern Munich, a 2–0 extra-time win over
Borussia Dortmund. He played for a total of 102 minutes before being substituted in the first half of extra time for
Daniel Van Buyten. He finished the 2013–14 season with seven Bundesliga appearances and two German Cup appearances for the first team and four goals from 14 appearances for the reserve team. His first match of the 2014–15 season was the
DFL-Supercup on 13 August, playing the first hour and then being substituted for
Mario Götze, as Bayern lost 2–0 at Borussia Dortmund. On 8 January 2015, Bayern extended Højbjerg's contract to 2018. He finished the 2014–15 season with no goals from eight Bundesliga appearances, one German Cup appearance, and three Champions League appearances. On 7 January 2015, Højbjerg was loaned to Bundesliga team
FC Augsburg for the remainder of the
2014–15 season. He made his debut on 1 February against
1899 Hoffenheim. Højbjerg scored his first Bundesliga goal on 11 April against
Paderborn in a 2–1 loss. On 9 May, he assisted
Raúl Bobadilla for the only goal as Augsburg won away at Bayern, who had already won the league by that point. He finished his loan spell with two goals from 16 Bundesliga appearances. He played 30 games for the
Gelsenkirchen-based club, including six in the Europa League, and at the end of the season he told Danish newspaper
B.T. that the time had arrived to leave Bayern Munich and become a first-team regular elsewhere.
Southampton in 2017 On 11 July 2016, Højbjerg joined English club
Southampton on a five-year deal for an estimated fee of £12.8 million. He made his debut in the
Premier League on 13 August as the season began with a 1–1 home draw with
Watford, coming on in the 55th minute in place of
James Ward-Prowse.
BBC Sport's Neil Johnston wrote that he "injected pace and urgency" into the Saints, "was not afraid to shoot and was hard-working". Although he played all five matches on the way to the
2017 EFL Cup Final, Højbjerg was an unused substitute in the match at
Wembley, which Southampton lost 3–2 to
Manchester United. Højbjerg scored his first goal for the Saints in his 54th match on 18 March 2018, opening a 2–0 win at
League One club
Wigan Athletic in the sixth round of the
FA Cup, the first match under new manager
Mark Hughes. In December that year, Hughes' successor
Ralph Hasenhüttl made him the Saints' captain. However in June 2020, Hojbjerg was stripped of the captaincy after publicly speaking about his desire to leave the club, with Ward-Prowse replacing him as captain.
Tottenham Hotspur On 11 August 2020, Højbjerg joined
Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year deal, for a reported initial fee of £15 million plus add-ons. He made his debut on 13 September in a 1–0 home defeat by
Everton. Despite this early setback, Højbjerg soon became a key member of
José Mourinho's squad in the central defensive midfield position, earning wide praise for his performance in many games, as well as receiving a nomination as Premier League Player of the Month for November. On 28 January 2021, Højbjerg scored his first goal for Spurs in the Premier League with a 20-yard strike at a 3–1 home loss to
Liverpool. He made the most appearances by a Premier League player in the
2020–21 season (3420 minutes). On 1 November 2022, he scored a goal in the 95th minute in a 2–1 away win over
Marseille, in which Tottenham Hotspur finished top of Group D in the
2022–23 Champions League season.
Marseille in 2024 On 22 July 2024, Højbjerg joined
Marseille on loan for the 2024–25 season, with an "obligation that would see the move become permanent" for a fee reported to be about £17m. His debut came in Marseille's opening fixture of the
2024–25 Ligue 1 season, a 5–1 rout over
Brest, in which he played a full 90 minutes. He scored the club's third goal in a 5–0 league victory over
Montpellier on 20 October, his first for the club. Despite his limited time at the club, Højbjerg was named as one of the team captains by November. On 31 May 2025, Højbjerg joined Marseille permanently from Tottenham Hotspur after his obligation-to-buy clause was activated. ==International career==