Leicester are reportedly showing an interest in Southampton central defender Jannik Vestergaard this month.
According to Sky Sports journalist Jim White, Leicester have approached Southampton over a potential deal, with the club set to demand more than £18m for his services.
Twitter: Being told that @LCFC have made an approach to @SouthamptonFC for defender Janik Vestergaard.
Saints would want mor… https://t.co/Ojo0aOQYc3 (@JimWhite)
Southampton signed Vestergaard from Borussia Monchengladbach for £18m in 2018. The Saints are now looking to make a profit on that in order to let him join Leicester before the end of the transfer window.
READ SOUTHAMPTON VERDICT
I think that Southampton should avoid selling Vestergaard to Leicester this month, unless the Foxes offer a ridiculously high fee for the defender – £25m or more. He is a vital member of the squad, as shown by his performance against Crystal Palace on Tuesday. Jan Bednarek missed out and Vestergaard stepped in to produced an excellent display at the back to help Southampton win 2-0 at Selhurst Park. He earned a WhoScored match rating of 7.09, making two interceptions and an impressive seven clearances throughout the game.
Vestergaard is currently top of Southampton’s list of centre-backs when it comes to WhoScored ratings, with an average of 6.79. Jack Stephens is second with 6.69 and Jan Bednarek is third with 6.65, whilst Kevin Danso and Maya Yoshida score 6.13 and 6.12 respectively. This suggests that Vestergaard has been underused at Southampton this season, with Stephens and Bednarek both starting more Premier League games than the Dane. He offers more of a presence in the air than the former two and is excellent at clearing crosses into the box.
Where he could be faulted, however, is when on the turn. He can be spun with ease at times by opposition attackers and lacks the pace to make up the space, often allowing forwards with time to run at the Saints goal. If he can be protected by the midfield, though, he can be an excellent option at centre-back with his tackling and aerial ability, as well as being able to read the game at the back.
All in all, due to his statistics and importance to Southampton – they should be rejecting Leicester’s advances over the next week or so before the transfer window slams shut.
