Southampton have snapped up Danish defender Jannik Vestergaard after agreeing on a fee of £18million with German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.
Vestergaard had been linked with a number of Premier League clubs, including the ubiquitous West Ham and Marco Silva’s Everton, but in the end has decided to venture off to the south coast with the Saints, and will now have a medial on Monday.
Vestergaard, who stands at 6ft 6in, was a member of Denmark’s 2018 World Cup squad which reached the last-16 of the tournament, although he did not feature in the campaign.
The 25-year-old played youth football with Danish side Brondby, before going on to make his senior debut over in Germany with 1899 Hoffenheim back in 2011 following a spell with the club’s second team.
He spent four years at Hoffenheim, then switched to Werder Bremen in 2015. He spent 18 months at the Weserstadion, where he caught the eye of Borussia Monchengladbach who snapped him up for €12m in the summer of 2016. But now, after two seasons - last term he scored three goals in 32 Bundesliga appearances - he’s made the move over to England where he’ll test himself in the Premier League for the first time in his career.
Vestergaard is Southampton’s third summer signing, following the moves of winger Mohamed Elyounoussi and midfielder Stuart Armstrong - for a combined £23m - to the south coast as boss Mark Hughes looks to create a squad capable of challenging for a top-10 finish after the disappointment of last season.
Hughes, who replaced the sacked Mauricio Pellegrino in March, saved the Saints from relegation down to the Championship after registering eight Premier League points from eight games. The Welshman then went on to pen a permanent three-year deal with the club.
