Southampton: Vestergaard will leave Saints in the summer transfer window

Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard will reportedly leave the club during the summer transfer window, with Leicester City still interested in signing him.

According to a report from Goal.com, the Foxes will make a new offer for the Dane as Saints lower their original asking price of £26m and prepare to let him depart.

They also report that Vestergaard was close to making the switch to the King Power Stadium in January but Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl pulled the plug on the deal – potentially due to a lack of options at centre-back in his own squad.

A significant £22m was paid to Borussia Monchengladbach back in the summer of 2018 to bring Vestergaard to England, and he was expected to add and height and aerial prowess to the Saints backline.

However, his lack of pace and agility has been taken advantage of since then and its fair to say that he has not lived up to expectations.

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To date, he has made 44 appearances since arriving at St Mary’s. His last game away at Watford last weekend actually saw him put in a composed performance, with Saints not worried by their opponents at the back.

The club may well look to cash in on an investment that has not paid off though.

If Vestergaard’s long-term future is not on the South Coast, then it would make sense for him to be sold so that other, more suited targets can be pursued.

Saints have been linked to Mohammed Salisu and have reportedly put in an offer to take him from La Liga side Real Valladolid. The 21-year-old would certainly fit into the profile of player that Ralph Hasenhuttl is wanting to bring in and work with over the next few years.

Nice’s Alex Disasi has also been mentioned as a target with perhaps two centre-backs needing to be brought in after the potential departure of Vestergaard and after Maya Yoshida left on a free transfer