Leicester City are the latest club to be linked with Jannik Vestergaard, and his exit could leave Southampton in a precarious position ahead of the new season.
What’s the word?
According to talkSPORT (via Leicester Mercury), Southampton are bracing themselves for a bid from Leicester for the Danish centre-back, who looks likely to leave the Saints this summer as he has less than one year left on his contract.
The Athletic claimed recently that the 28-year-old is looking for a new challenge away from Southampton and shows no indication that he will commit to a new contract at St Mary’s, so it seems as if Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side will have to cash in this summer, or else risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season.
It is no surprise that Leicester have entered as potential candidates for his signature, as they lost centre-back Wesley Fofana to a broken leg in a recent pre-season friendly, whilst fellow defender Jonny Evans is also expected to miss the start of the new season, so Brendan Rodgers will surely be looking for reinforcements.
A big loss for Hasenhuttl?
Whilst some Southampton fans might have come to accept that Vestergaard will be leaving this summer, it will still be a blow to lose the former Borussia Monchengladbach man.
Last season saw him contribute three goals in 30 Premier League appearances, whilst his 6.89 average rating from WhoScored was enough to rank him as the third-best performer in Hasenhuttl’s squad.
Tim Sherwood sang his praises early last term, saying: “During the early part of the season, he was their best player. He was outstanding.”
He was also excellent for Kasper Hjulmand’s Denmark side at the European Championship as they reached the semi-finals, so it is no surprise that he is being linked with a move elsewhere.
Considering that Southampton conceded the second-most goals in the Premier League last season, and have so far only added inexperienced full-back options Romain Perrraud and Tino Livramento to their existing defensive ranks, it does not bode well for the upcoming season that they could be set to lose arguably their top centre-back.
[freshpress-quiz id=“594431”]
Therefore, Southampton fans will rightly be worried that Vestergaard will leave and their defence will be even more vulnerable than last season, which could easily leave the Saints in a relegation battle given that they finished 15th in 2020/21.
In other news… Southampton could sign their ideal Vestergaard heir in £7.2m-rated “monster”