Why Leicester avoiding a £15m move for this 27-year-old star would be the right decision

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Rohan Sengupta

Why Leicester should avoid signing Southampton’s Jannik Vestergaard

According to The Sun, Leicester City are plotting a £15million move for Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard this month.

Jannik Vestergaard, 27, has so far made 12 Premier League appearances for the south coast club this term, scoring one goal. The Dane has struggled for minutes on the pitch in recent months after Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens have formed a solid partnership at the back.

However, the 27-year-old was recalled into the starting XI on Tuesday by Ralph Hasenhuttl and the defender helped Southampton to a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace. The Saints are well clear of the relegation zone as they currently sit 9th in the table with 31 points after 24 games.

Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard in action. (Getty Images)
Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard in action. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Leicester City didn’t replace Harry Maguire after selling him to Manchester United before the start of the season. The Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers backed Caglar Soyuncu to replace Maguire and the Turkish centre-back has repaid the manager’s faith, forming an excellent partnership with Jonny Evans at the back.

Beyond Soyuncu and Evans, Leicester have Wes Morgan and Filip Benkovic as options in central defence. Clearly, the Midlands outfit are well-stocked at the back and don’t necessarily need another body for this season. To put things plainly, the Foxes must avoid signing Jannik Vestergaard from Southampton.

Vestergaard joined Southampton from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2018. The centre-back had a decent start to life in English football but he has struggled under Hasenhuttl this season. The Dane made only 23 Premier League outings last season and has been unable to nail down a starting role this campaign.

Caglar Soyuncu of Leicester City shakes hands with Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Newcastle United at The King Power Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)
Caglar Soyuncu of Leicester City shakes hands with Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Newcastle United at The King Power Stadium on September 29, 2019, in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)

The 27-year-old did struggle at the start of the 2019/20 season and was hooked at half-time in Saints’ chastening 9-0 defeat at home to Leicester in October. Vestergaard made his first league appearance in more than two months in Southampton’s 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Tuesday after Jan Bednarek picked up an Achilles injury.

Verdict

All in all, the Denmark international may be an experienced defender but he won’t be an improvement over Leicester’s first-choice centre-backs Evans and Soyuncu. Hence, they should stay away from Vestergaard.