Southampton FC laughed to the bank after Leicester City transfer decision | OneFootball

Southampton sold Jannik Vestergaard to Leicester City for a big fee in the summer of 2021

Ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, Southampton were eager to strengthen areas of weakness in the transfer market after a disappointing season in the year prior, finishing 15th in the top flight.

Under Austrian head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl, Southampton fell to 15th in the Premier League after finishing 11th in the year prior, and were eager to ensure a more successful season was in store for them the following year.

The likes of Tino Livramento were signed from Chelsea, Adam Armstrong from Blackburn Rovers, Romain Perraud from Stade Brestois, and Lyanco from Torino, as well as the free addition of Theo Walcott and the loan arrival of Armando Broja.

With these signings, Hasenhuttl looked to build upon a squad already containing the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Kyle Walker-Peters, Nathan Redmond, and Oriol Romeu.

However, the sale of Danny Ings to Aston Villa left a hole up front, whilst Mario Lemina departed for OGC Nice, as the Saints now lacked the same tenacity in the midfield as they had previously.

Though it was the sale of a certain centre-back to Leicester City which raised eyebrows at the time, it would eventually prove to be the correct call by the South Coast outfit.

Southampton sold Jannik Vestergaard to Leicester City in the summer of 2021

Jannik Vestergaard was another name sold by Southampton during the same summer, with the towering Dane joining Leicester City in a deal worth around £14 million.

The defender first joined the Saints three years prior from German side Borussia Monchengladbach for £18 million, and he would go on to make 79 appearances at St Mary's across all competitions in that time.

The offer made by Leicester was too good to turn down for Southampton, as Vestergaard was in the final year of his contract and unlikely to sign a new one.

Upon his arrival at the King Power Stadium, Vestergaard immediately found himself competing for game time alongside the likes of Jonny Evans, Daniel Amartey, and Caglar Soyuncu; after a decent start to life with the Foxes, he quickly fell out of favour under Brendan Rodgers.

Vestergaard would make just ten league appearances across the entire campaign, seeing his game time dwindle during the second half of the season, as the Foxes would go on to finish eighth in the top flight, whilst Southampton once again finished in 15th.

Things wouldn't get any better for either Vestergaard, Southampton, or Leicester the following year, and in fact went about as badly as it possibly could have gone, with both teams suffering relegation from the Premier League, as Vestergaard went the entire season without playing a single league minute.

He was exiled from first team training in March 2023 by Rodgers after an interview he did with Danish publication Ekstra Bladet, saying: "I think my situation at Leicester is in many ways very similar to what (Daniel) Agger experienced at Liverpool.

"From being highly valued one day to suddenly being completely out in the cold the next without an explanation you can use for anything."

Vestergaard added: "I can also recognise Agger’s experience in that I really felt wanted by Brendan Rodgers. While I was at Southampton, I had contact with him a year and a half before I switched, where he called me and we had personal talks, and where he really convinced me that I should switch to Leicester.

"I was already very close to switching from Southampton to Leicester, a year and a half before it became a reality. So, Brendan Rodgers and the club knew exactly which player they were buying with both my strengths and weaknesses, and it’s hard to understand that from one moment to the next I’m suddenly unusable. It feels strange, I must admit."

Upon their relegation to the Championship, Rodgers was dismissed and replaced by Enzo Maresca, which saw the Dane brought back from the cold, as he, alongside Belgian international Wout Faes, played a crucial role in sending the Foxes straight back up at the first time of asking, making 42 league appearances on their way to the title.

However, Maresca would leave for Chelsea the following summer, and he once again found game time difficult to come by in the Premier League under Steve Cooper and then Ruud van Nistelrooy, as Leicester were once again relegated.

Meanwhile, Southampton have endured a similar trajectory to Leicester, with both relegated in 2023, to be promoted in 2024, to once again be relegated in 2025.

Southampton slight winner in Leicester City, Jannik Vestergaard agreement

It would be difficult to identify any winner in the agreement between Leicester and Southampton regarding Vestergaard, though it's probably the Saints that just about got the better deal.

Southampton made a loss of £4 million on the Dane; the Foxes have not seen a welcome return on their £14 million investment, and Vestergaard went two years playing just ten league games, and has suffered two relegations to boot.