‘I don’t know what’s happened’ – Vestergaard hits out at ‘frustrating’ Leicester situation
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 21 Sept 2022 12:55 BST
- 12 min read
Jannik Vestergaard has spoken out on the “frustrating” position he finds himself in at Leicester.
Vetergaard joined the Foxes a year ago in a €17.5 million deal from Southampton but has found himself on the periphery of the Leicester squad under Brendan Rodgers.
The 30-year-old Denmark international featured only 20 times in all competitions last season, the majority of which came early in the campaign. Indeed, aside from a start in the Carabao Cup encounter with Stockport – a match that Leicester managed to keep a clean sheet in – Vestergaard has not featured at club level since the middle of March.
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Rodgers has ignored him, despite the fact that the Foxes have conceded a Premier League-high 22 goals this season, shipping six in their recent loss to Tottenham.
Unsurprisingly, this has left the player vexed.
Vestergaard puzzled by Leicester omission
“It’s a very frustrating situation for me in Leicester right now, just as it’s generally a frustrating time for the club in terms of results,” he told BT.
“Personally, it’s disappointing I’ve not had a chance in the league because a good pre-season and got a lot of playing time in friendly matches, when it went well for me. I arrived at the start of the Premier League season in great shape.
“I don’t know what’s happened. I came back to the club after the summer break and two international matches with Denmark, when we beat Austria and the world champions, France. I spoke to the club and got the impression they were happy with me and that we were starting from scratch and that I had the same chance to play as everyone else.
“But when the league started, I was suddenly completely outside and have only started in one cup match, where I played well and we kept a clean sheet. Afterwards, I was on the outside again.
“Last season I struggled with some injuries and illness and arrived at Leicester without a pre-season - and almost straight from the Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley and an exhausting final round. It was not optimal. This year, on the other hand, I have been sharp and without any glitches at all.”
Vestergaard's performance v Premier League defenders: 2019/20
Meanwhile, Vestergaard says that loan offers were rejected by the club, with Valencia, Nice and Brentford all reportedly interested.
“As always in a transfer window, there were some options - this time mostly in the form of loan offers, but the club said no to all of them,” he confirmed.
Vestergaard is presently on international duty with Denmark, who face Croatia on Thursday and France on Sunday.
