Martin Keown admitted that he would have liked to see Jannik Vestergaard at Arsenal as the Southampton defender closes in on a £15 million move to Leicester City, while speaking to talkSPORT (13 August, 11.20am).
Nine or ten months ago, this 6ft 6ins mountain of a man was being talked about as one of the finest defenders in the whole of the Premier League – and with good reason.
Vestergaard had been a pillar of strength at the heart of a Southampton team who topped the table in October, dominating pretty much every striker he came up against while starting plenty of attacks of his own with those piercing line-breaking passes.
At the time, it didn’t seem too fanciful to suggest that the second coming of Virgil van Dijk was plying his trade at St Mary’s.
Now, with the new league season just hours away, Vestergaard is on the verge of leaving the South Coast – and for a damn sight less than Liverpool paid for Van Dijk too.
Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed in his Thursday press conference that the Denmark international is heading to Leicester for £15 million, meaning Southampton will make a £3 million loss on a player with one year left on his contract.
Should Arsenal have rivalled Leicester City for Jannik Vestergaard?
“Stunned by that. I really can’t believe it. To go for £15 million…” said Keown, a three-time Premier League winner.
“He’s rock solid, passes it beautifully, he’s one of the first names on the team-sheet, strong, a real man in the team. It must be part of their policy; if you refuse to sign (a new contract) they sell you.
“I know they’ve done this for years but this is surely a big risk. The last 21 games of last season, they lost 17! So they’re not in a good shape, and now they’re getting rid of one of their best players.
“You wonder where they’re heading this season. They’re definitely weaker for letting Vestergaard leave.”
Keown wonders if Arsenal should have been tempted to make a bid of their own.
Despite spending £50 million on Ben White, doubts persist about the quality and the potential of Rob Holding, Pablo Mari and particularly the underwhelming Gabriel Magalhaes.
“(Vestergaard) is definitely a player I’d have liked at Arsenal,” Keown said. “That’s really good business, £15 million. That’s a giveaway.”
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