Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Gary Mabbutt has told Football FanCast that Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard is likely to be on the club’s radar, and believes he would fit in with Spurs’ style of play.
The club have been heavily linked with a move for the Saints defender in recent weeks.
The Daily Telegraph reported earlier this week that scouts had watched Vestergaard in action as they look to formalise their summer plans in terms of player recruitment.
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Vestergaard has been with the Saints since 2018, making 69 appearances in all competitions, and also winning 21 caps for Denmark. He is valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt.
Spurs were in the market for a new defender in the summer and pursued Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar, with transfer chief Steve Hitchen even flying to Italy to attempt to negotiate a deal.
That was a non-starter, and Spurs eventually signed Joe Rodon from Swansea City instead, but the Wales international has struggled for minutes and has not even been included in the club’s Europa League squad.
As a result, a new centre-back may be needed in the summer, with Toby Alderweireld having turned 32 this month.
And Mabbutt believes Vestergaard would be a shrewd addition for Spurs if they could get a deal over the line.
Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I think he’s an excellent player.
“He’s doing very well for Southampton and obviously the Danish national team.
“He’s very comfortable on the ball coming out from the back, which obviously goes in with the Spurs style of play but again, you can’t just see a player in a few games and say ‘hey this is the player for us’. There’s a lot more work that needs to be done behind the scenes regarding players. “
Mabbutt also believes Spurs will be keeping their ears to the ground in terms of identifying targets as they look to strengthen this summer, and thinks there is plenty of work to be done when it comes to picking the right players to acquire.
He added: “Ever since I’ve been involved with the club, that’s been 38 years now, whenever a decent player is coming through or a player is doing particularly well, they’re always on the club’s radar. Then the ones being identified, you have to look at ‘will that player make a big difference to my team, is that the player I want, the style of play that he’s got within my team?’
“There are a lot of questions that have to be asked from going from ‘hey he’s doing extremely well at his club, how will he fit in here, do we need a player like this here and how will he change our fortunes?’