Leicester City centre-back Jannik Vestergaard could be a doubt to face Watford next week after feeling something in the first-half clash against Stoke City.
Jannik Vestergaard has been ever-present at the heart of Enzo Maresca’s defence after being frozen out by former manager Brendan Rodgers.
In an unexpected turn of events, the Danish defender has gone from being an outcast to one of the first names on the team sheet.
During their dominance at the top of the Championship, Vestergaard has formed an incredible partnership alongside Wout Faes.
The pair have helped contribute to 10 clean sheets in 30 matches, ranking them third in the entire division, behind only West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United.
No one in the Championship, however, can better their defensive record having conceded just 23 goals this term.
Vestergaard’s role in that has been pivotal. He’s completed the most accurate passes per game in the Leicester squad (95.1 – 93%), the most clearances (3.8) and the joint second most interceptions (1.1), via Sofascore.
Unfortunately, the 31-year-old is now an injury worry for next weekend’s clash against Watford and while academy graduate Ben Nelson replaced him in the first half against Stoke, Maresca should consider unleashing Harry Souttar instead.
Why Enzo Maresca should unleash Harry Souttar in place of Jannik Vestergaard
The towering centre-back has only started once for Leicester in the Championship this term but has featured regularly for Australia at the Asia Cup.
Although the Socceroos were knocked out by South Korea in the quarter-final stages, Souttar continued his rich vein of scoring for his country by netting in the round of 16 against Indonesia. This was his fifth goal of the campaign.
The 25-year-old returns to the King Power hungry to impress and perhaps deserves the opportunity to start if Vestergaard is absent.
After all, the man who they signed for £15 million from Stoke a year ago was a rare positive in a dismal end to their Premier League journey last term.
Standing at a giant 6 foot 6, he ranked in the top 9% for aerials won, as per FBref, and the top 15% for touches (att pen), demonstrating his threat in both boxes.
Souttar earned his move to the King Power on the back of his exceptional performances for Australia at the 2022 World Cup.
He also earned praise during that tournament from former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand who hailed him as a “dominant” and a “huge presence” defensively.
The fact that Ferdinand singled out Souttar’s praise on the big stage just shows the level of talent Maresca has on his hands.
In the potential absence of Vestergaard, the Italian should forget about Conor Coady and Nelson by unleashing the Aussie.