Blues set for £25m Vardy bid
FROM BACK PAGE double in the opening-day defeat at Arsenal and has six in 16 England games.
Vardy’s age and cost fit into Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia’s plan to run the club on a more sustainable basis. At 30, the striker could be available for £25million.
Granovskaia and Blues boss Antonio Conte have held a series of meetings this summer over transfer targets, with Roman Abramovich’s trusted aide calling the shots.
She feels there is better value in signing either younger players or older players, rather than paying top dollar for stars in their prime.
Summer arrivals such as £70m Alvaro Morata, £35m Tiemoue Bakayoko, and £31m Antonio Rudiger fit that bracket, while they also brought in ex-Manchester City keeper Willy Caballero on a free.
The west Londoners are also keen on Vardy’s Leicester team-mate Drinkwater, with a move for the Three Lions midfielder at an advanced stage.
Vardy snubbed a move to Arsenal last summer to stay at Leicester, on a new contract worth £100,000 a week, after City won the Premier League title.