BREAKING: Southampton complete signing of Jannik Vestergaard
By Chris Hughes
The Saints have today announced their fourth signing of the summer, bringing in Danish international Jannik Vestergaard from Borussia Monchengladbach.
After failing to make much movement in the first month of the transfer window, Southampton have now signed a quartet of players in the space of three weeks, with Stuart Armstrong, Mohamed Elyounoussi and Angus Gunn all already joining the Saints.
The centre-back has signed a four-year contract on the south coast, having joined for a reported £18 million – a deal that not only makes Southampton’s most expensive defender of all time, but also their priciest signing of the summer.
Vestergaard joins the Saints to add physicality and aerial presence to the side’s defence, with their current crop of centre-halves dangerously weak in the air. The 25-year-old stands at six-foot-six and won nearly two-thirds of his aerial duels in the Bundesliga last season.
Next: Vestergaard is the perfect addition to Southampton's defence
Many suspected that the Saints would sign the towering defender before they completed the deal for goalie Angus Gunn, however some sources have reported that a loss of paperwork from the German side delayed getting this one over the line, with the Dane apparently completing a medical as early as Monday.
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Having played a three-at-the-back formation so far in pre-season, many supporters are expecting Vestergaard to set up in the middle of the centre-halves, especially as he’s slightly slower than the other defenders the Saints have on their books.
Despite this, the 25-year-old boasts an impressive passing accuracy and is clearly more than just an old-school defender, having successfully played 85% of his passes last campaign.
The arrival of the Dane takes the Saints’ spending to over £50 million, with the board finally showing some intent in the transfer market and making up the mistakes in previous windows.
Reports linking the Saints to Barcelona’s Marlon Santos are continuing to persist, and if the Saints can also add a more physical striker to replace the loaned-out Guido Carrillo, they could be in for a really successful campaign.