Vardy: We’ll go higher

JAMIE VARDY last night spoke for the first time about his new Leicester contract and how he is ready to take the Premier League champions to the next level.

The England striker, above, was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal ahead of Euro 2016 after the Gunners triggered his £20 million release clause.

But Vardy, 29, who scored 24 goals last season as Leicester became the shock champions, instead agreed a new and improved four-year contract at the club.

Vardy said: “It’s nice to be coming into pre-season without the distraction of any speculation. My future’s decided – I’m a Leicester City player and I’m absolutely delighted with that.

“This club’s been fantastic for me and now I’ve got to knuckle down again to keep helping to move it forward. I’m grateful to the manager, the owners, my teammates and the fans for the support they’ve always given me.

“What we achieved last season was beyond what anyone could have imagined, but we’ve got to go again. There’s really nothing to fear.

“We’re defending the title and we’ve got the Champions League to look forward to, so we want to make sure we do ourselves justice.

“The next few years could be really exciting for this club. We all want to build on last season’s success and I’m delighted that I’ll be part of it.

“I had total faith in my agent and the club to sort things out, which left me free to completely focus on England and trying to help the team at the Euros.”