Vardy conundrum
Fox in the box returns to lead promotion charge, but don’t rule out a move to USA
JAMIE VARDY will have dreamed about it many times. The man who inspired Leicester City to Premier League and FA Cup glory scoring the goals that take them back to the top flight.
One of English football’s most famous players is due to return from a knee injury tonight as the Foxes, who lead the Championship by seven points, take on third-placed Ipswich Town.
After nearly two months out, it would be typical Vardy to be the star of the show and deliver the win that takes Leicester — somehow relegated last season — a step closer to an instant return.
Yet the longer-term picture for Vardy is unclear. The forward, who turned 37 earlier this month, is out of contract at the end of the season and will give more thought to his future from February, once he is playing regularly again.
For now, retirement is not on the agenda. Mail Sport understands Vardy’s love for the game is as strong as ever and he plans to continue playing into his 40s.
The ideal scenario for both Vardy and Leicester is for the club to return to the Premier League and extend Vardy’s stay into a 13th season — but it is not the only possible outcome.
Though player and club are synonymous with one another, nothing lasts for ever. Vardy has always been intrigued by football in the United States and there would be other clubs in England willing to sign him if Leicester choose not to extend his stay.
While it seems inconceivable Vardy’s Leicester career might have only four months left, it is not as straightforward as it seems.
Enzo Maresca has used Vardy regularly though he has not been an automatic choice. The manager alternated Vardy with Kelechi Iheanacho during the early part of the campaign and when the pair were injured, first Patson Daka and then Tom Cannon stepped up. Now Vardy’s challenge is to climb the pecking order again as he seeks to add to his six league goals this term.
‘Senior players like Jamie, Marc Albrighton and Conor Coady are very important,’ said Maresca. ‘If we have been top of the table since virtually the start of the season, it’s also because of them.
‘When they play, they help the team on the pitch and when they don’t, they help day by day in training sessions, before the game, the way we try to plan the game in the changing room.
‘It’s very important that the senior players are behind the idea and not only them — the whole 25-man squad. If some of them are not behind the idea they won’t be here, they’re going to leave.
‘Before Jamie was injured he was playing a lot. He and Kelechi were playing as we were trying to share minutes between them. Then unfortunately they both got injured and it was Patson’s moment. He took his chances and now he’s away at the Africa Cup of Nations, it’s Tom’s opportunity and he’s doing well.
‘Now Jamie is back and we will see how to manage both.’
Maresca has barely put a foot wrong in his first management role in English football, reviving a club in disarray after relegation and putting them on course to go back up at the first attempt. He deserves credit for the way he has managed Vardy.
Yet this is possibly the strongest squad in the recent history of the second tier and anything less than automatic promotion would be below par. If Leicester go up, we will see next season what Maresca is really made of. The fascinating question is whether Vardy will still be alongside him.