At 6′ 6” it was hardly surprising that the Saints v Borussia Monchengladbach friendly programme’s front cover referred to the recently-signed Jan Vestergaard as the “Great Dane” (see scrapbook section). Indeed it was hoped that the long-haired centre-back would bring some much needed authority to the heart of Southampton’s defence, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

The club, under Mark Hughes, continued to struggle early on in the 2018-19 season and even when Ralph Hasenhuttl took over, Jan Bednarek’s partner in the heart of defence was either Jack Stephens, Maya Yoshida and Jan himself. It wasn’t much different the following campaign as he only featured in half of the 38 Premier League fixtures, one of which was the 9-0 thrashing by Leicester. Fans felt with his height he should be more dominant in the air and although he often looked composed with the ball at his feet and could spray a decent long range pass into promising territory he was also prone to costly lapses.

But something changed in the ’20-21 season. Saints made a fine start and much of the credit was given to Vestergaard, steady in defence,he also suddenly proved to be a goal threat from corners and free kicks. But it did not last, after an injury sustained in the December he was sidelined for seven matches and when he returned, his form had deserted him as the team slid down the table at an alarming rate. Nevertheless he was still picked to represent his country in the delayed 2020 Euros and shone as Denmark went all the way to the semi-finals where they were beaten by England.

He was now three years into a four-year contract and was about to turn 29. Whether on not Southampton fought hard to keep him was not made clear, but it wasn’t the biggest shock in the world to learn that the club had accepted a fee of £15m from Leicester for his services, just before the season got underway.

Born to a Danish father and German mother he had grown up in Copenhagen and progressed through junior football in his homeland before starting his professional career in his mother’s country. He had played nearly 200 games in the Bundesliga before Southampton brought him to English football.