New Southampton signing says settling at Saints is easy

New Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard told the club’s official site how easy it has been settling at the club - despite marrying his now-wife, experiencing a World Cup and moving to a different club and country.

From Borussia Monchengladbach to Southampton by way of Russia, Vestergaard’s summer has been rather hectic. But, thanks to the provisions put in place by the club, he is raring to go for the start of the season.

“The people I’ve met here with the team, players, staff, coaches have all been very friendly and helpful trying to make the transition as easy as possible for me,” Vestergaard told the Saints OS.

“Away from the field, my wife and I have had support from everywhere, down to helping us to find us somewhere to live. All of that has taken the weight off our shoulders so I can focus on the job here. Help really has come from everywhere since we arrived in England.”

In terms of settling in with his new teammates, it appears Vestergaard is relishing it all. Thankfully, he already knows compatriot Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from international duty with Denmark, making things a touch easier.

“I’m getting to know everyone, also by their nicknames which is a little confusing for me! I’m learning more about the players day by day, of course also on the field. It’s been a good couple of days so far already.

“It’s natural that the new guys look for each other early on, they find someone who is experiencing the same thing for the first time. I know Pierre very well, he’s been helping me a lot. It’s been easy to settle.”

With his Saints pre-season underway with the club following his early summer being with the Denmark national team at the World Cup, Vestergaard is now solely focused on being ready for Southampton’s upcoming Premier League campaign.

“Pre-season is the phase that every footballer enjoys the least, it’s very tough and demanding. We will improve fitness and football in these weeks and we all know that it will help us during the season.

“The World Cup was both a positive and negative experience for me. I wanted to play more and help the team on the pitch but it was an amazing experience to see the attention, the media and so many people travelling from all over the world to follow their countries.

“The first game of the new league season is very important, you want to get off to a good start - especially at home - but it is a long campaign; this camp will focus on us getting into a good shape so we can perform at a high level for the entirety and not just the first game.

“It does means a lot to start well in the right way with three points, for the fans as well who have waited a long time for a home game in the stadium so they are looking forward to it too. Hopefully we can go into the new season with a win and plenty of confidence.”