‘What man could do that?’ - Vestergaard reveals ‘special’ reason for rejecting Hertha

Robin Bairner

• 31 Jan 2023 20:32 GMT
• 4 min read

Leicester defender Jannik Vestergaard turned down the opportunity to move to Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin on Deadline Day for a rather unusual reason – his wife is close to giving birth and is not allowed to travel.

Vestergaard signed for the Foxes in 2021 in a €17.5 million deal from Southampton but has struggled to win the favour of manager Brendan Rodgers.

The Denmark international, 30, has featured in only three senior matches this season, two of which came in the EFL Cup and the other of which was a 90-minute display against Gillingham in the FA Cup.

MORE: Deadline Day: Every confirmed transfer around Europe

Leicester have not conceded a goal this season when he has been on the field, though that has not been enough for the coach to consider a more prominent role for him, albeit he has appeared on the bench for Premier League matches since the World Cup.

Oh Baby! Vestergaard puts family first

A deal had been brokered with Hertha to take Vestergaard to the Bundesliga club, but awaiting the birth of his second child, which is due at any time, he was unable to leave his wife at home with their firstborn to complete the deal.

“It is not about money. I have not turned down a move to Hertha Berlin or anybody else because of money. That is simply not true. I have a special situation in my family, where we are right now expecting our second child,” he told TV2 in Denmark.

“If we had come to an agreement with another club earlier in the transfer window, then my wife would have been able to make the journey with me, but now we are very close to her giving birth, so she is not allowed to travel.

“I can’t leave my pregnant wife alone in England with our other child - and soon a baby - and obviously I don’t want to be away in the first months of my baby’s life. What man could do that? I don’t want to be at a place where they don’t use me, but before being a football player I am a husband and father.

“At the beginning of this transfer window, I did not have anything at hand - which I had last summer. There were a handful of interesting clubs ready for a loan deal then, but Leicester said no. The club would only accept a sale and not a loan deal. There was an offer from Fulham, which I turned down for football reasons - also because I was told by Leicester that we would all start from scratch and that I would be given a chance.

“There were loan deals where I would have made less money than in Leicester, but still I asked the club to be allowed to go out on loan at that time.”

Vestergaard, who previously played in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach, will remain at Leicester for the remainder of the season and fight for his place in the side.