‘I don’t want to only have just one Premier League medal at home’
Arsenal down,” he added. “But if another offer came in, it would be the same in that I would look at it and work out the pros and cons. But, no, turning down Arsenal doesn’t mean I wouldn’t look at another offer.
“Down the road, there might be an opportunity to go to America or China. It would be something I would like to experience. I’ve seen other players do it. I know it will involve moving the family again, but it will give them a different experience to see different cultures.”
When it was put to Vardy that he would also have an FA Cup winners’ medal if he had joined Arsenal, the 30-year-old replied: “But it weren’t the Premier League was it? So I’m all right with that I think. I’ll never regret anything I’ve chosen to do.”
Asked what his reasons were for rejecting the Gunners, Vardy added: “It was just coming up with the positives and negatives, and I came up with a decision and I’m pleased with the decision I made.
“They had qualified for the Champions League for the last 20 years or something, until last year. That was something to think about. But Leicester were also in the Champions League and on a different night at home against Atletico Madrid we could have gone even further.”
Wherever he is, Vardy will be keeping a close eye on the careers of Danny Newton, Blair Turgott, Alex Penny and Lamar Reynolds, who all graduated from his academy and were signed by professional clubs.
The first episode of The Next Jamie Vardy will be shown on Sky One on Sept 16 and former Hinckley United and Tamworth striker Newton, who had never previously played for a professional club, has started with three goals in five League Two games for Stevenage. “Straight away, as soon as our game finishes, I’m having a look to see if they have scored at each of their clubs,” said Vardy, who played for Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town before joining Leicester five years ago. “If not, seeing if they’ve started.
“Danny has started off well. I’ve spoken to him and he said it was quite hard for him in pre-season. He was saying that he bets the manager was thinking, ‘What have we signed here?’, then it clicked for him and he’s been on fire.”
Vardy believes 90 per cent of English clubs, even in the lower leagues, would rather sign a player from overseas than looking at non-league clubs for bargains.
“Within the non-league base, my scouts were probably better [than scouts at professional clubs],” said Vardy, who put more than £100,000 of his own money into the V9 project. “A lot of scouts wouldn’t even think about looking in non-league.
“They are probably told to look at a specific position and type of player they want and it will either be someone from the league below they look at or nine times out of 10 nowadays they go abroad.”
Having seen youngsters at professional clubs seek the trappings of a top footballer before making an impression in the first team, Vardy believes non-league players can be hungrier to prove themselves.
“I think so, yes,” he said. “It was definitely the case for me. As soon as I signed for Leicester and knuckled down and things started going right, and I started scoring goals, I wanted to be as good as I possibly could be. A lot of the academies now, everything is done for you but how long’s that going to last for?”
As part of his fly-on-the-wall documentary, Vardy returned to the carbon-fibre factory where he used to work while playing non-league football. He believes youngsters who have spent their lives in professional academies would benefit from being sent on placements and getting a taste of the real world.
“I think it would definitely wake a few of them up,” said Vardy. “I can’t see many players wanting to get up at six in the morning to go and do a nine-hour shift. It would definitely open their eyes and make them realise that it’s not something they want to even have a chance of doing.”
‘Turning down Arsenal last year doesn’t mean I wouldn’t look at another offer’