Bayern Munich Announce Extension, Loan to Augsburg for Hojbjerg

Bayern Munich have confirmed Pierre-Emile Højbjerg has signed an extension until 2018, and the club will loan him to Augsburg until the end of the season.

Hojbjerg (19) verlängert bis 2018 beim FCB! Wird aber bis Saisonende an den FC Augsburg ausgeliehen, um Spielpraxis zu bekommen. ^M.Hörwick

— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) January 8, 2015

"The agreed upon contract extension until 2018 is a clear sign for Pierre-Emile Højbjerg that Bayern is building a future around him," said sporting director Matthias Sammer. "At the same time, the loan to Augsburg until the end of the season is a good option for him, to collect game experience before he returns to us."

Højbjerg now joins Julian Green, Jan Kirchhoff, and (as of today) Xherdan Shaqiri as players on loan from Bayern, the most to be on loan simultaneously from the club since the 2009/10 season. Bayern now have 11 players committed to the team until 2018 and beyond. He is also the fourth home grown player to receive a new deal in the past two seasons, joining Alaba, Lahm, and Thomas Müller.

Højbjerg signed a three-year professional contract in the fall of 2013, and he spent a significant portion of the 2013/14 season on the bench as support for an injured Bayern midfield. He came to Pep Guardiola's rescue in the 2014 DFB-Pokal final, playing as a right full-back as Bayern went on to win 2-0 over Borussia Dortmund. He received 13 appearances in the Hinrunde, most of which came when David Alaba and Philipp Lahm got hurt.

The 19-year-old will now join an Augsburg central midfield that includes Daniel Baier, Dominik Kohr, and Markus Feulner. Augsburg currently sit in sixth place in the Bundesliga table on 27 points, allowing Højbjerg to take part in his first chase for a Champions League spot.