Goal threat and pass completion look to be the main weapons in the locker of new Southampton signing Jannik Vestergaard (£5.0m).
The Dane’s height and strength should prove useful to the Saints back-line in 2018/19 but he is more likely to find the net and perform well on the Bonus Points System than he is to improve the club’s clean sheet potential.
We’ve gone over Vestergaard’s final season at Borussia Mönchengladbach to find out whether he’s worth signing for our Fantasy Premier League squads for the new campaign.
THE HISTORY
25-year-old Danish international Vestergaard finally arrives in England after several years of interest in his services from the Premier League.
At 1.9 metres tall the new Southampton man is an imposing figure whose key attributes are his height, strength and ability to pass the ball.
After five years at Hoffenheim, Vestergaard joined Werder Bremen in 2015 but signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach a year later. Two campaigns in North Rhine-Westphalia produced successive ninth-place finishes in the Bundesliga as well as a journey to DFB-Pokal semi-finals and Champions League football in 2016/17.
In that time Vestergaard established himself as the defensive lynchpin for Mönchengladbach proving an ever-present figure at the back. In fact, he was the only outfield Bundesliga player to play every minute of their side’s matches in the calendar year of 2017, never injured and never rested.
Vestergaard’s uses aren’t restricted to defensive duties, though. In 66 Bundesliga appearances for Mönchengladbach he found the net seven times, making him the most prolific defender in the German top-flight for the calendar year of 2017. Furthermore, he was responsible for playing passes out from the back at Mönchengladbach too, boasting a completion rate of 85 percent. His total of 1,913 was the third best in the division last season behind only Kevin Vogt and Mats Hummels. Long balls were Vestergaard’s speciality, his total of 182 also the third best in the Budesliga. In fact, his ability in this area of the field meant he was used in midfield at times during his spell with Hoffenheim.
His performances in the last two seasons with Mönchengladbach led to Vestergaard being named in Denmark’s preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup. He did not make the final cut but still trained with the squad during the tournament.
THE COMPARISONS
Tackles won pg | Clearances pg | Blocks pg | Interceptions pg | Pass completion pg ↓ | Shots in box pg | |
Vestergaard | 1.28 | 5 | 1.20 | 1.3 | 85 | 0.68 |
Yoshida | 1.12 | 5.14 | 0.58 | 1.70 | 84 | 0.7 |
Bertrand | 1.40 | 1.71 | 0.28 | 1.25 | 79 | 0.34 |
Hoedt | 2.10 | 6.14 | 0.64 | 1.42 | 79 | 0.42 |
Stephens | 1.36 | 4.77 | 0.81 | 1.86 | 76 | 0.45 |
Bednarek | 1.20 | 5.4 | 0.20 | 1 | 75 | 0.20 |
THE PROSPECTS
With Mark Hughes experimenting with three central-backs so far in pre-season it seems likely that Vestergaard has been brought to Southampton to act as the ball-playing defender in a 3-5-2 system. His aptitude for passing the ball is clear, last season boasting better a pass completion rate than any of the other candidates for inclusion in the new-look back-three in Hampshire. Although it must be noted that the 25-year-old has considerably more experience playing in a four-man defence in a 4-4-2 formation, as was used heavily by Dieter Hecking at Mönchengladbach last season.
In fact, it’s hard to argue that the Dane will definitely improve the Saints’ chances of clean sheets on his own in 2018/19, as you will see from the data above. Only Maya Yoshida (£4.5m) and Jan Bednarek (£4.0m) averaged fewer successful tackles than Vestergaard last season and only Ryan Bertrand (£5.0m) and Bednarek registered fewer interceptions. The Dane may have ranked eighth overall in the Bundesliga for clearances per game (five) but that number was still beaten by three Southampton centre-backs in 2017/18. To his credit, though, Vestergaard bested the Saints defence for blocks (1.2 per game).
Crucially, the Saints registered eight clean sheets last season while Vestergaard recorded just seven with Mönchengladbach, in a division of arguably lower overall quality than the Premier League. Where Vestergaard will bring some improvement is in terms of continuity, the only outfield Bundesliga player to complete every match of 2017. Of those who could be used in Hughes’ back-three at Southampton his season, only Bertrand made more than 30 appearances last season.
Vestergaard’s Fantasy appeal will largely stem from bonus points and goal threat in 2018/19, it would seem. The three goals he scored in 32 Bundesliga appearances last season was more than any of his new centre-back colleagues managed in 2017/18, and only two two players in the German top flight won more aerial duals than him (103). Only Yoshida averaged more shots in the box than Vestergaard last season so he is likely to be a key target for Southampton’s set-pieces, also boosting the appeal of corner and free-kick taker James Ward-Prowse (£5.5m).
As for passing, Vestergaard has the potential to register plenty of baseline points on the BPS. Players who attempt a minimum of 30 passes per match can pick up BPS points, and last season the centre-back averaged 59.8 per game.
Competing with his new team-mates for Clearances, Blocks and Interceptions on top of these two areas of strength may prove difficult, but that’s by no means a disadvantage for him overall when it comes to bonus. Nicolas Otamendi (£6.5m) accrued more bonus points than any defender other than César Azpilicueta (£6.5m) last season, combining his goal threat with passing accuracy.
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