Southampton have some catching up to do if they stand any chance of breaking into the automatic promotion spots in the Championship, the Saints nine points off Leicester City in second place but with two games in hand next to their name.
Russell Martin will hope his South Coast outfit can fix their defensive leakiness in the crunch matches to come if they are to leap up the table, having conceded five goals in their last two league encounters before the International break.
Kyle Walker-Peters potentially being back and fit could help shore up the Saints for their home clash with Middlesbrough on Good Friday, with the second tier side missing their reliable right-back owing to injury in those two games.
Even with Southampton being charitable in defence as of late, they wouldn't turn back the clock to have this former £18m man back on their books with his transfer value tumbling ever since he waved goodbye to St Mary's in 2021.
Jannick Vestergaard's stats at Southampton
Jannick Vestergaard was once a fan's favourite on the South Coast, having made 79 appearances for the Saints in total and nodding in four goals in the process.
The £18m buy would be a colossus in his final season for Southampton, scoring three times as a towering 6 foot 6 centre-back including this excellent header against Tottenham Hotspur who once sniffed around for the Dane's services.
The ex-Saints man was even described as "outstanding" by Alan Shearer that same season, when discussing the best top-flight performers in December.
Leicester City would ultimately land the Scandivanian defender's signature at the end of that campaign, the Foxes signing the imposing defender for what looked like a bargain fee of £15m at the time.
Yet, it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the lofty defender since relocating.
A bumpy start at the King Power Stadium coincided in Brendan Rodgers refusing to play him, playing just ten Premier League games in his first season and none in his second under the now Celtic boss before his exit in the wake of relegation.
Vestergaard has managed to redeem himself under the short-lived tenure of Enzo Maresca so far, making 33 appearances for the Foxes as they aim for an immediate return to the top-flight, but it hasn't stopped his once substantial transfer value taking a hit to ease Southampton's pain about losing him.
Jannik Vestergaard's transfer value in 2024
According to Football Transfers, the 31-year-old defender now comes in at a far lesser worth of €1.7m (£1.4m) compared to his once hefty £18m price tag.
To further add context, this would make the Danish centre-back worth less than Jack Stephens in the current Southampton ranks who has received flak recently for his sub-standard displays, with journalist Felix Keith critical of Martin's decision to "shoe-horn" the captain into the side at left-back on occasion.
The long-standing Saints servant would win zero duels in his side's last game versus Sunderland, but still is judged to be worth €1.9m (£1.6m)
Southampton have also managed to replace Vestergaard with younger and fresher talents, with Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis – who is worth €12.5m (£10.7m) – excelling with flying colours this campaign at the back since joining on loan from the current reigning Premier League champions.
Alongside experience coming in the form of Jan Bednarek, who has been absent from just two league games in Martin's side since making the drop-down, Southampton should be able to return to more dogged displays in defence in the weeks to come away from shipping goals for fun.
1. Joe Lumley
€0.4m (£343k)
2. Alex McCarthy
€0.6m (£514k)
3. Juan Larios
€1.3m (£1.1m)
4. Jack Stephens
€1.9m (£1.6m)
5. Joe Rothwell
€2.2m (£1.8m)
If Vestergaard was still on the roster at Southampton, he would come in as the third least valuable player at St Mary's when scanning over the table above.
Although the 6 foot 6 former Saints man has managed to turn around his stuttering career, there's no lingering regret from Southampton's point of view anymore about how things ended.