Bayern loan Hojbjerg to Schalke for the season

Hojbjerg made his Denmark debut last year and was then sent on loan in January when he helped Augsburg qualify for the Europa League this season.

Now Bayern have confirmed another loan spell at the Gelsenkirchen-based outfit.

"I'm looking forward to this new challenge until the end of the season," Hojbjerg told the Bayern website.

"I want to gain match practice and prove myself for FC Bayern. That's what I want to achieve in Schalke."

Schalke are at Wolfsburg on Friday, while Bayern host Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday with both sides going into the Allianz Arena showdown in the top three.

"This is a very good solution for all three parties," said Bayern's director of sport Matthias Sammer.

"We continue to count on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and we're certain his future lies in Munich, but to develop further, he needs match practice which he will get at Schalke.

"We at FC Bayern have positive experiences with loan spells of this kind in the case of Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos and David Alaba."