Jannik Vestergaard - Official: Signs for Leicester

[derry]

Reported as signed subject to medical but with Saints permission already training with Leicester so he can be available for saturday.

Edited 12 August, 2021 by derry

[Depressed of Shirley]

4 minutes ago, derry said:

Reported as signed subject to medical but with Saints permission already training with Leicester so he can be available for saturday.

I love the way we bend over backwards to help other Prem clubs, whilst Man Utd want a huge loan fee and payment of the full wage for us to develop one of their young players. I wonder makes them more successful than us.

[Whitey Grandad]

6 minutes ago, Depressed of Shirley said:

I love the way we bend over backwards to help other Prem clubs, whilst Man Utd want a huge loan fee and payment of the full wage for us to develop one of their young players. I wonder makes them more successful than us.

It's the other way around. It's not acting like that that makes them successful. It's being successful that lets them act like that.

[trousers]

15 minutes ago, derry said:

Reported as signed subject to medical but with Saints permission already training with Leicester so he can be available for saturday.

 

8 minutes ago, Depressed of Shirley said:

I love the way we bend over backwards to help other Prem clubs

I guess it could be argued that doing Leicester a small favour for this weekend's game could indirectly favour us too given their opponent (Wolves) are more of a direct rival to us than Leicester are...

Edited 12 August, 2021 by trousers

[TWar]

7 minutes ago, trousers said:

 

I guess it could be argued that doing Leicester a small favour for this weekend's game could indirectly favour us too given their opponent (Wolves) are more of a direct rival to us than Leicester are...

Plus helping them get Vest in for game 1 makes him a more appealing prospect than someone from abroad who may have to isolate/not play for a week or two, thus making them more likely to buy him instead. Not letting him do it would not really benefit us at all.

[CB Fry]

23 minutes ago, Depressed of Shirley said:

I love the way we bend over backwards to help other Prem clubs, whilst Man Utd want a huge loan fee and payment of the full wage for us to develop one of their young players. I wonder makes them more successful than us.

Congratulations on getting upset by comparing two completely unrelated things. Bravo.

[Depressed of Shirley]

6 minutes ago, TWar said:

Plus helping them get Vest in for game 1 makes him a more appealing prospect than someone from abroad who may have to isolate/not play for a week or two, thus making them more likely to buy him instead. Not letting him do it would not really benefit us at all.

But if it was the other way round, it would be "he cant play on Saturday because he hasn't trained and we've not completed the transfer yet." I just think we are too nice in a game involving a lot of bastards.

[TWar]

1 minute ago, Depressed of Shirley said:

But if it was the other way round, it would be "he cant play on Saturday because he hasn't trained and we've not completed the transfer yet." I just think we are too nice in a game involving a lot of bastards.

It's not niceness, its making a deal more appealing for little loss (arguably gain as we want Leicester to beat wolves really for our ambitions, they are much closer to us in the league)

[Depressed of Shirley]

Just now, CB Fry said:

Congratulations on getting upset by comparing two completely unrelated things. Bravo.

I'm not upset, its just that we always are trying to our best fro every one else, when no one seems to do us a favour. Anyway. I couldn't care less if we sign Williams as I've seen nothing to make him stand out above what we have. Perhaps if we just said he can train once we have received the cash it would just seem a bit more normal.

[Streaky]

32 minutes ago, Depressed of Shirley said:

I love the way we bend over backwards to help other Prem clubs, whilst Man Utd want a huge loan fee and payment of the full wage for us to develop one of their young players. I wonder makes them more successful than us.

Money

[Badger]

1 hour ago, derry said:

Reported as signed subject to medical but with Saints permission already training with Leicester so he can be available for saturday.

What happens if he does his knee, ACL, or whatever in training today before the medical ?

Or Vardy crocks him in training. Not the first time he's buggered a CB of ours at cost to the club.

[CB Fry]

4 minutes ago, Badger said:

What happens if he does his knee, ACL, or whatever in training today before the medical ?

Or Vardy crocks him in training. Not the first time he's buggered a CB of ours at cost to the club.

Apparently he's being flown up there in a helicopter from Cardiff.

[mickn]

What about the possibility that once they've seen him for half an hour in training they change their minds?

[Saint Keef]

32 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Apparently he's being flown up there in a helicopter from Cardiff.

Well I guess the helicopter will have a tighter turning circle than Vesti.

And this is only my opinion (others will no doubt disagree) but, I genuinely think a lot of Bednarek's problem in defence, was that he was covering a lot of the time for Vesti's lack of pace, hence making last ditch tackles and the like. I think with a more mobile partnership at the back we will see a better Bednarek. He didn't look too bad for Poland in the Euros. Dare I say on the few occasions he partnered Jack Stephens we generally looked "calmer". Vesti was useful for his height and long ball passing obviously and no doubt he improved last season but he still had lapse's in concentration which caused general panic among the others. Prior to the first lock down I felt he was a less than average defender, so £15m for me is not a bad bit of business. I also felt there may be an "attitude" thing with him. Only from my own observations. I remember watching him in his debut at St Mary's and even then he was having "digs" at Jack Stephens who IIRC partnered him that day. This all probably sounds like "sour grapes" but it honestly isn't.

[leon0286]

The more I consider the Big Dane, the more I think it's a relatively decent signing for us, considering the injury to Fofana.

PL Experienced, seems to be a bit of a leader, especially at International level, links to Schmeichel/Bertrand, can play in a back 3 which we occasionally play, good at bringing the ball out etc.

His pace is a concern, but we did have Maguire here for a few years, and having a good quality of player around him should limit that weakness.

I've seen Tarkowski being suggested as a possible replacement, but Dyche wants £25/30 million+, despite him not signing a new deal, as we've been after him/Vestegaard for 12 months.

 

[VectisSaint]

3 hours ago, tajjuk said:

He's hardly Chiellini, also iirc Vestergaard was a centre-mid for the early part of his career and I think he only switched to playing centre-back at like 22-23, so it's not like he has years and years of experience as a reliable defender. 

I also don't get this general obsession with age, ability is what counts and just because a player is 30 or 32 doesn't suddenly mean he is any wiser or more knowledgeable all of a sudden, I mean someone like Balotelli got worse with experience and became even more unpredictable.  Ward-Prowse has been a professional and hard working example to others for years now and he's only 26. 

But that's exactly what it does mean, with age (or at least playing years) comes experience and wisdom. Balotelli was just a nutjob, and also he wasn't a CB, hardly an example for what we need. Jannik was actually not all that experienced in relative terms, but what we really don't need at the moment is another inexperienced youngster, doesn't matter how skilful they are. Bednarek, Stephens and Salisu are just not the basis for a solid defence, we are already short in terms of height without Vestergaard, we are simply going to get bullied even more that we did in both penalty areas. 

[niceandfriendly]

3 minutes ago, leon0286 said:

The more I consider the Big Dane, the more I think it's a relatively decent signing for us, considering the injury to Fofana.

PL Experienced, seems to be a bit of a leader, especially at International level, links to Schmeichel/Bertrand, can play in a back 3 which we occasionally play, good at bringing the ball out etc.

His pace is a concern, but we did have Maguire here for a few years, and having a good quality of player around him should limit that weakness.

I've seen Tarkowski being suggested as a possible replacement, but Dyche wants £25/30 million+, despite him not signing a new deal, as we've been after him/Vestegaard for 12 months.

 

Definitely a good signing. I think a lot of the apparent joy from many on here is because for a lot of his time here he has been very poor. However they've overlooked the fact he's dramatically improved since his early days and has had periods of being absolute quality for us. He also comes off the back of a brilliant Danish campaign at the Euros. Surrounded by other quality players at Leicester and under the excellent coaching of Rodgers I think JV could prove a very valuable asset for them.

We clearly had to sell due to his contract situation, but it means the Foxes get a decent deal for a more than decent but not top level player. 

[sydney_saint]

Apart from a few months early on last season (until he got injured but was excellent) the reality is that Vestegaard has been either a bit above average, average, or poor for most of his time here. The sadder reality is that was enough to be comfortably our best centre back. One of our weakest areas of the pitch has just managed to get even weaker. 

It's very frustrating that we knew Vest was off this Summer, yet spent the end of the season wasting our time with Salisu at left back. He should have been in his preferred position given he hadn't played much all season, and is likely gonna be a really key player for us this season. Really dumb management. In the same way it was dumb to keep playing Redmond instead of giving Djenepo a run of games to see if he is good enough with a bit of rhythm. It means we go into this season with avoidable question marks over some players

Unless the club has something decent up its sleeve, there is a very real risk we go into the season in a worse position than last season. Bednarek I don't think is quite good enough to be a guaranteed starter at this level, and Stephens is Stephens. ALOT of pressure on whoever the new signing is, and Salisu, to step up. That's asking a fair bit for two players. Not to mention trying to gel with a new left back as well. 

 

 

Edited 12 August, 2021 by sydney_saint

[iansums]

Slightly odd coincidence that the two players signing for Leicester were both sent off against them.

[dahnsouff]

1 minute ago, iansums said:

Slightly odd coincidence that the two players signing for Leicester were both sent off against them.

Pashun  🤣

Kasper knows Vestergaard, Brendan knows Ryan, decent fits as we lack experience.

Conundrum what’s going on at Saints, at least to the outsider, but genuinely hope it turns out well for you. 

[leon0286]

5 minutes ago, dahnsouff said:

Pashun  🤣

Kasper knows Vestergaard, Brendan knows Ryan, decent fits as we lack experience.

Conundrum what’s going on at Saints, at least to the outsider, but genuinely hope it turns out well for you. 

 

I fully concur with this, can't say I know too much about the inner dealings of Saints, but I don't like to see other 'family' clubs, that were up until very recently a similar size to us, seemingly be struggling, when Man City and Pep Fraudiola are once again buying league titles and spending £100 million + on single transfers.

 

13 minutes ago, sydney_saint said:

Apart from a few months early on last season (until he got injured but was excellent) the reality is that Vestegaard has been either a bit above average, average, or poor for most of his time here. The sadder reality is that was enough to be comfortably our best centre back. One of our weakest areas of the pitch has just managed to get even weaker. 

It's very frustrating that we knew Vest was off this Summer, yet spent the end of the season wasting our time with Salisu at left back. He should have been in his preferred position given he hadn't played much all season, and is likely gonna be a really key player for us this season. Really dumb management. In the same way it was dumb to keep playing Redmond instead of giving Djenepo a run of games to see if he is good enough with a bit of rhythm. It means we go into this season with avoidable question marks over some players

Unless the club has something decent up its sleeve, there is a very real risk we go into the season in a worse position than last season. Bednarek I don't think is quite good enough to be a guaranteed starter at this level, and Stephens is Stephens. ALOT of pressure on whoever the new signing is, and Salisu, to step up. That's asking a fair bit for two players. Not to mention trying to gel with a new left back as well. 

 

 

 

I think we've been pretty good recently, at identifying targets who are perhaps not the most fashionable, or at clubs who have been struggling more than us in the league, and realising that in our setup, we may be able to get more out of them.

Evans/Maguire are two examples I can think of actually, both being relegated before joining us, and both excelling. 

Salisu was an excellent signing, one with all the traits required to be a good modern CB. But I do worry that he hasn't, right now, got a lot of experience to be helping him out on the pitch. Soyuncu/Fofana are two examples of young defenders, capable of stepping up to this level very quickly....But they also had Johnny Evans guiding them through games a lot. Salisu may very well swim, rather than sink, but I'd worry that should he not start great, and he loses confidence, then you get to a point where you might be looking for 3 worse teams in the league. 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

1 hour ago, Saint Keef said:

Well I guess the helicopter will have a tighter turning circle than Vesti.

And this is only my opinion (others will no doubt disagree) but, I genuinely think a lot of Bednarek's problem in defence, was that he was covering a lot of the time for Vesti's lack of pace, hence making last ditch tackles and the like. I think with a more mobile partnership at the back we will see a better Bednarek. He didn't look too bad for Poland in the Euros. Dare I say on the few occasions he partnered Jack Stephens we generally looked "calmer". Vesti was useful for his height and long ball passing obviously and no doubt he improved last season but he still had lapse's in concentration which caused general panic among the others. Prior to the first lock down I felt he was a less than average defender, so £15m for me is not a bad bit of business. I also felt there may be an "attitude" thing with him. Only from my own observations. I remember watching him in his debut at St Mary's and even then he was having "digs" at Jack Stephens who IIRC partnered him that day. This all probably sounds like "sour grapes" but it honestly isn't.

What's the consensus on Bedna's performances before last season? I certainly used to think he was good. If it was just one bad season then I'd be inclined to think he can get back into form.

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, leon0286 said:

 

I fully concur with this, can't say I know too much about the inner dealings of Saints, but I don't like to see other 'family' clubs, that were up until very recently a similar size to us, seemingly be struggling, when Man City and Pep Fraudiola are once again buying league titles and spending £100 million + on single transfers.

 

 

I think we've been pretty good recently, at identifying targets who are perhaps not the most fashionable, or at clubs who have been struggling more than us in the league, and realising that in our setup, we may be able to get more out of them.

Evans/Maguire are two examples I can think of actually, both being relegated before joining us, and both excelling. 

Salisu was an excellent signing, one with all the traits required to be a good modern CB. But I do worry that he hasn't, right now, got a lot of experience to be helping him out on the pitch. Soyuncu/Fofana are two examples of young defenders, capable of stepping up to this level very quickly....But they also had Johnny Evans guiding them through games a lot. Salisu may very well swim, rather than sink, but I'd worry that should he not start great, and he loses confidence, then you get to a point where you might be looking for 3 worse teams in the league. 

Thanks for your views, always nice to have civil fans coming on and contributing.

I'm certainly envious of your success and all the things you are doing. We made a lot of the right noises a few years ago under Koeman but we then lost our way because we thought we'd 'cracked it' and then tried to get clever with our moronic DoF and idiot Chief Scout, who are thankfully long gone.

We spent big fees on Carrillo, Gunn, Hoedt, Boufal, Elyonoussi - about 65m ish there in players bought. We've let 3 of them go for free (paid off their contracts) and made a 60% loss on Gunn. We've still got Elyonoussi, but that's because no one else wants him - he'll go for free next summer. In that time we also gave Fraser Forster two new contracts, the latest being around 80k p/w. So we saddled ourselves with crap, had no where to move and the problems with our ownership and investment model became even more apparent.

You are definitely a model all clubs can follow, you do it the right way in every aspect.

[Badger]

9 minutes ago, leon0286 said:

 

I think we've been pretty good recently, at identifying targets who are perhaps not the most fashionable, or at clubs who have been struggling more than us in the league, and realising that in our setup, we may be able to get more out of them.

Evans/Maguire are two examples I can think of actually, both being relegated before joining us, and both excelling. 

Salisu was an excellent signing, one with all the traits required to be a good modern CB. But I do worry that he hasn't, right now, got a lot of experience to be helping him out on the pitch. Soyuncu/Fofana are two examples of young defenders, capable of stepping up to this level very quickly....But they also had Johnny Evans guiding them through games a lot. Salisu may very well swim, rather than sink, but I'd worry that should he not start great, and he loses confidence, then you get to a point where you might be looking for 3 worse teams in the league. 

Leicester have done very well at identifying targets but also reinvesting wisely on selling. We've just frittered it after the sale of VVD especially, and made a series of poor managerial choices after Koeman left. Until Ralph. Main difference betwenn Saints and LCFC for me has been the ownership, yours stable and ambitious, ours ... well, less said the better, wants to sell and can't.

Agree about the need for experience around young players, something Lawrie used to do well years ago.

As for the bit in bold, that's been our way for a few seasons now. Hoping Ralph can keep us going until we throw off some financial shackles of ridiculous wages, or new owners come in.

[derry]

I have my own view on what makes a good defensive centre back the most vital defensive position in any team. Vestergaard had only one asset for me and was basically deficient in the others. He mostly could control the ball and hit an accurate crossfield pass. Defensively he was a liability without two other centre backs to cover him. Pacewise he was a cart horse without the agility to turn quickly. No acceleration to speak of. His marking was laughable, wrong positionally so neither marked or was in a position to simultaneously see the mark and the ball which is essential. For his height he rarely won aerial challenges under pressure while flattering to deceive often heading the ball away whilst unchallenged. Often he was too late and too slow in last ditch challenges which often ended up with the ball in our net. When he did get forward out of position and we lost the ball he left us high and dry at the back never getting back.

Personally I was holding my breath that he wouldn't go. I think maybe the management were so obliging to Leicester because they also saw the opportunity to plug a major hole in our defence. Hopefully we'll get somebody in that can genuinely attack the aerial balls and be swift and smart enough to improve our defending. As for Leicester! We'll see.

Edited 12 August, 2021 by derry
spelling

[dahnsouff]

15 minutes ago, derry said:

I have my own view on what makes a good defensive centre back the most vital defensive position in any team. Vestergaard had only one asset for me and was basically deficient in the others. He mostly could control the ball and hit an accurate crossfield pass. Defensively he was a liability without two other centre backs to cover him. Pacewise he was a cart horse without the agility to turn quickly. No acceleration to speak of. His marking was laughable, wrong positionally so neither marked or was in a position to simultaneously see the mark and the ball which is essential. For his height he rarely won aerial challenges under pressure while flattering to deceive often heading the ball away whilst unchallenged. Often he was too late and too slow in last ditch challenges which often ended up with the ball in our net. When he did get forward out of position and we lost the ball he left us high and dry at the back never getting back.

Personally I was holding my breath that he wouldn't go. I think maybe the management were so obliging to Leicester because they also saw the opportunity to plug a major hole in our defence. Hopefully we'll get somebody in that can genuinely attack the aerial balls and be swift and smart enough to improve our defending. As for Leicester! We'll see.

Our last cart horse with the turning circle of the Titanic turned out alright. 😄

[derry]

1 minute ago, dahnsouff said:

Our last cart horse with the turning circle of the Titanic turned out alright. 😄

If you're talking about Wes Morgan, he genuinely attacked the ball and won a lot. Don't expect Vestergaard to play that way because he won't he'll stand and watch. Best of luck.

[Whitey Grandad]

8 minutes ago, derry said:

If you're talking about Wes Morgan, he genuinely attacked the ball and won a lot. Don't expect Vestergaard to play that way because he won't he'll stand and watch. Best of luck.

Perhaps we should wait for the cheque to clear before letting on about his deficiencies?

[dahnsouff]

16 minutes ago, derry said:

If you're talking about Wes Morgan, he genuinely attacked the ball and won a lot. Don't expect Vestergaard to play that way because he won't he'll stand and watch. Best of luck.

I meant Maguire, but Wes is a fair shout too 😃

Good luck for the season ahead

[derry]

6 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Perhaps we should wait for the cheque to clear before letting on about his deficiencies?

👍🤞

[Baird of the land]

1 hour ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

What's the consensus on Bedna's performances before last season? I certainly used to think he was good. If it was just one bad season then I'd be inclined to think he can get back into form.

I still think bednarek is a good defender, maybe not the greatest passer of the ball but I expect him to bounce back.

 

as to vestergaard. Think Leicester are getting a decent player, he’s no Johnny Evans in terms a steal of a signing but he’s a threat aerially and has a decent pass. Though if it’s him and Bertrand lining up together i’d Expect teams to be trying to exploit that side with pace.

[East Kent Saint]

According to Liverpool’s site Brighton , Burnley , Newcastle and Saints have shown an interest in Nat Philips . Price said to be £12 to £15M on another site . I suspect he is in our price/wages range so probably coming our way . 

[croydonsaint]

Vestergaard has been a good signing for us. I wish him all the best,  he deserves his chance at Leicester as far as I’m concerned

[Crab Lungs]

1 hour ago, East Kent Saint said:

According to Liverpool’s site Brighton , Burnley , Newcastle and Saints have shown an interest in Nat Philips . Price said to be £12 to £15M on another site . I suspect he is in our price/wages range so probably coming our way . 

Would literally be signing a significantly worse Jack Stephens. Lol.

[Hatch]

1 hour ago, East Kent Saint said:

According to Liverpool’s site Brighton , Burnley , Newcastle and Saints have shown an interest in Nat Philips . Price said to be £12 to £15M on another site . I suspect he is in our price/wages range so probably coming our way . 

I’m assuming there is a decimal point missing in those figures. 
He had been rubbish in every game I have seen him play in. 

league one level. at best. 

[Hatch]

In relation to Vestegaard.  I like him as a player.  But if he leaves.  Couldn’t give a shit.  
Doesn’t make my list of ‘top 50 players I was upset about leaving ‘

[SFC Forever]

No thanks neither of the  two  CB's Liverpool bought to replace VVD or the other two long term injured CB's are good enough.

[leon0286]

4 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

Thanks for your views, always nice to have civil fans coming on and contributing.

I'm certainly envious of your success and all the things you are doing. We made a lot of the right noises a few years ago under Koeman but we then lost our way because we thought we'd 'cracked it' and then tried to get clever with our moronic DoF and idiot Chief Scout, who are thankfully long gone.

We spent big fees on Carrillo, Gunn, Hoedt, Boufal, Elyonoussi - about 65m ish there in players bought. We've let 3 of them go for free (paid off their contracts) and made a 60% loss on Gunn. We've still got Elyonoussi, but that's because no one else wants him - he'll go for free next summer. In that time we also gave Fraser Forster two new contracts, the latest being around 80k p/w. So we saddled ourselves with crap, had no where to move and the problems with our ownership and investment model became even more apparent.

You are definitely a model all clubs can follow, you do it the right way in every aspect.

 

Well the reality is, it's all been down to luck, and hard work....Lucky that we've got such incredible owners, who are incredibly hard working, in trying to make us as competitive as we can be.

Our transfer success, isn't as immaculate as it may seem from the outside. When the owners initially took us over, in the Championship, they thought the route to success and raising our profile, was purely down to spending a fortune. I remember the days of Sven being our manager, and wasting a fortune on pretty average Championship players. But what really changed our fortunes, was our owners ability to admit when they didn't understand something, and they were willing to listen. They are businessmen....But had no experience of running this kind of business. So once they realised their way wasn't working, they turned to proper footballing people, oddly enough, this is where an ex Saints manager, Nigel Pearson, gets huge credit. The job he did, not just in getting us promoted from League 1 and then the Championship, but more importantly, educating our owners as to what was required to run a successful football club.  Looking back, I can't think of a better man.....His time at Middlesbrough, where they were spending a fortune on 'stars' and were relegated, probably opened his eyes more than anything else.

 

£100 million on a training ground last season, record investment in transfers this summer despite the huge layout on the training ground. Announcements today that we're expanding the ground by 8000, adding a hotel + an arena and turning our ground into more of a complex, to bring in further revenue and enhance our FFP cap. 

This isn't in anyway meant to be some kind of 'brag', reading it back it does seem a little like that....But it's more a beacon of hope, a sign of what can be done in a relatively short space of time, it wasn't long ago we were battling administration and relegated down to League one. 

 

Good owners, can carry a football club, a very very long way.

Bad owners, can destroy one, as we also very nearly found out in the not so distant past. 

[tajjuk]

4 hours ago, derry said:

I have my own view on what makes a good defensive centre back the most vital defensive position in any team. Vestergaard had only one asset for me and was basically deficient in the others. He mostly could control the ball and hit an accurate crossfield pass. Defensively he was a liability without two other centre backs to cover him. Pacewise he was a cart horse without the agility to turn quickly. No acceleration to speak of. His marking was laughable, wrong positionally so neither marked or was in a position to simultaneously see the mark and the ball which is essential. For his height he rarely won aerial challenges under pressure while flattering to deceive often heading the ball away whilst unchallenged. Often he was too late and too slow in last ditch challenges which often ended up with the ball in our net. When he did get forward out of position and we lost the ball he left us high and dry at the back never getting back.

Personally I was holding my breath that he wouldn't go. I think maybe the management were so obliging to Leicester because they also saw the opportunity to plug a major hole in our defence. Hopefully we'll get somebody in that can genuinely attack the aerial balls and be swift and smart enough to improve our defending. As for Leicester! We'll see.

He would also weirdly often go out of position to close down a ball he was never going to get leaving either space in behind or for him to get easily turned.

I think his passing 'quarterback' ability somewhat hid his defensive lapses.  

Plus fully agree, he should have won WAY more headers and scored WAY more goals considering the quality of delivery JWP puts in. Someone like Joh Terry who was nowhere near the size of Vestergaard I reckon would have got into double figures for us last season, because of proper ability to attack the ball in the air. 

[Diabolus Ex Machina]

4 hours ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

What's the consensus on Bedna's performances before last season? I certainly used to think he was good. If it was just one bad season then I'd be inclined to think he can get back into form.

For me he was previously very solid if generally unspectacular and would have the occasional outstanding game where he would throw himself in front of everything. Certainly worthy of a starting place in the team. Last year really was diabolical for him though and if anything got worse as the season went on. Thinking he needed a break really and am hoping he gets back to his previous form this season.

[Saint86]

Nothing against vest and hope he does well as it reflects well on saints. But couldn't care less that he's gone and look forward to us investing the funds in a replacement who better fits the role under ralph. 

[Chez]

13 hours ago, sydney_saint said:

It's very frustrating that we knew Vest was off this Summer, yet spent the end of the season wasting our time with Salisu at left back. He should have been in his preferred position given he hadn't played much all season, and is likely gonna be a really key player for us this season. Really dumb management. In the same way it was dumb to keep playing Redmond instead of giving Djenepo a run of games to see if he is good enough with a bit of rhythm. It means we go into this season with avoidable question marks over some players

good points and a few months later...Djenepo is being talked about as a covering left back. 

[Chez]

13 hours ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

What's the consensus on Bedna's performances before last season? I certainly used to think he was good. If it was just one bad season then I'd be inclined to think he can get back into form.

One bad season?

IMO he has got better each season, but it's from such a low bar. He was really poor when he first played.

he has heart, but he is slow, doesn't dominate and lacks quality on the ball. 

 

[rallyboy]

He offers a goal threat in both boxes.

[John B]

Any genuine rumours of his replacement

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, John B said:

Any genuine rumours of his replacement

"Former Liverpool loanee Ozan Kabak, free agent Gary Cahill and Marseille defender Duje Caleta-Car are amongst the players thought to be available to the club this summer."

 

 

Edited 13 August, 2021 by Matthew Le God

[Ldnsaint]

14 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Former Liverpool loanee Ozan Kabak, free agent Gary Cahill and Marseille defender Duje Caleta-Car are amongst the players thought to be available to the club this summer.

 

 

The meltdown if we replaced Vestergaard with Gary Cahill 🤣

[skintsaint]

9 minutes ago, Ldnsaint said:

The meltdown if we replaced Vestergaard with Gary Cahill 🤣

I think the club will surprise us with a good signing on this one. Must be a bit of a kitty if this will be our last signing of the summer after the sales.

[trousers]

11 minutes ago, Ldnsaint said:

The meltdown if we replaced Vestergaard with Gary Cahill 🤣

Do we know what Cahill's fitness status is? i.e. is he in the "his legs have gone" category of older players yet? I'm just wondering if his experience and leadership qualities, and how that might help improve our younger CBs, could outweigh the cons of his age and dwindling fitness/pace etc?

Edited 13 August, 2021 by trousers

[Dusic]

Cahill is 36 in December, so would be a very short term option. I wouldn't think we would go for that, but you never know.

Considering we have £15m or thereabouts there must be a good option in Europe that we could sign for that, and we offer a platform in the PL which is highly sought after.

The timing is a shame as both Guehi and Andersen would have been great signings that would have been affordable I think. Ajer too.