Jannik Vestergaard’s move from SV Werder Bremen to Borussia Mönchengladbach has been completed. The 23-year-old Danish central defender underwent his medical and signed a five-year contract until June 2021 in Mönchengladbach on Friday, June 10.
At his former clubs, 1899 Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen, Vestergaard has made a total of 129 Bundesliga and 15 German Cup appearances to date. He has also been capped eight times by Denmark.
“Despite his young age, Jannik will play an important role in our defence due to his experience and physical presence,” said Borussia Director of Sports Max Eberl. “We’re delighted that he has decided to join Borussia and that we’ve managed to sign him.”
Jannik is born in the Hvidovre municipality of Copenhagen, were he grew up in the centre of the Danish capital and started out playing football at Vestia BK before quickly moving on to the better-known club BK Frem. Shortly afterwards, he moved to Københavns Boldklub. However, it didn’t go smoothly for him at the oldest club outside of Great Britain. In his first year for the U17s, Vestergaard had a major growth spurt and struggled to cope with the situation. During this period, he was often used as a substitute and he therefore decided to link up with traditional Danish club Brøndby IF in his second year at U-17 level.
He stayed at the club for two and a half years and developed into a youth international for Denmark. Shortly after being awarded the “Arlas talentpris” for best Danish U-19 player, Vestergaard moved abroad for the first time in summer 2010 and joined 1899 Hoffenheim. He initially started out playing for the U-23s but the towering defender went on to greater challenges in a short space of time. His strong aerial ability and good build-up play paved the way for him to progress to the first-team squad. The central defender celebrated his Bundesliga debut in the 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on April 16, 2011. That was the first of his 82 Bundesliga games (6 goals) for Hoffenheim. Vestergaard moved to SV Werder Bremen in the 2014/15 winter break, where he immediately developed into a top performer. He made a total of 38 top-flight appearances for Bremen and scored three goals.
Vestergaard regularly featured for Denmark’s U-18s and played 28 times for the U-21s. He was handed his debut for the senior team in a friendly against Poland (1-2) on August 14, 2013 and has eight caps to date. His first competitive game for Denmark came in the 2016 European Championship playoff return leg against Sweden on November 17, 2015. He came on as a substitute in the 84th minute and scored his only international goal to date in added time.