A national team coach has made a subtle dig towards Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, despite calling up one of the Foxes’ first-team figures.
14 Leicester players were called up by their nations for the March international fixtures which include the likes of Bilal El Khannouss and Wilfred Ndidi.
There are also plenty of high-profile names that will remain at the Seagrave training ground, including Victor Kristiansen, who was snubbed by Denmark.
Many Leicester players are currently in a woeful run of form, as shown by the fact that the Foxes have lost 13 of their previous 14 Premier League games and some have been ostracised altogether, but still been called up.
Denmark manager hits out at Jannik Vestergaard decision
One of those players fortunate enough to receive a call-up is defender Jannik Vestergaard.
Since Ruud van Nistelrooy swapped to a 5-3-2 formation, Vestergaard hasn’t even been on the bench in the past two games and has played one of the last five games altogether.
His last appearance came in the Foxes’ shocking 2-0 loss against West Ham United but Denmark manager Brian Riemer still named him in the squad.
While Riemer was happy to include the 32-year-old, he subtly called for Van Nistelrooy to play him more often.
He told Danish outlet Tipsbladet: “I’m thinking what every national coach would think, and that is that I hope everyone plays. My goal is to select as many in-form players as possible, and sometimes there may be situations where you have to compromise on one or two things.
“The good thing is that if you look over a longer period than two games, Jannik has played, so we don’t get a player who hasn’t started in five months. But if you ask me if I had hoped he had played these games and come in with top form, then of course I did.”
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Jannik Vestergaard stats this season
It’s been an up and down season for the defender, like many of his teammates.
After flourishing under Enzo Maresca in the Championship, Vestergaard soon found himself out of the side under Steve Cooper.
Reports then revealed that Cooper banished Vestergaard from training and he was left out of the cold entirely.
Van Nistelrooy’s arrival sparked a little upturn in form for centre-back but he soon returned to his old ways under Brendan Rodgers and as the weeks have gone by, his form has deteriorated.
| Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 19 | 0 | 0 |
Having played 19 times in all competitions this season, Vestergaard is yet to score or register an assist and is part of one of the worst defences in history.