Vardy’s one of the best in Europe... so bring him back Gareth
IT may seem the wrong time of year to talk about international football, but Jamie Vardy has left me with no option. When he was at Fleetwood at the start of the decade, Vardy played with my brother-in-law Sean Clancy. Geoff, my father-in-law, used to join the Cod army every other week. If my schedule allowed, I would go along with him.
Geoff said before my first visit that Fleetwood had a striker with pace to burn who scored goals for fun. He was adamant Vardy, who was then unknown, could play at a higher level. ‘Keep your eye on this kid,’ he said. Geoff was right. I loved his style immediately and have been a fan ever since.
The player I see propelling Leicester’s quest to push Liverpool and manchester City in the title race is no different to the one I saw all those years ago at Highbury Stadium. His speed has not dropped; his eye for goal is clinical. He is England’s most in-form striker.
This is what made me think about the European Championship. I would love to see Vardy reverse his decision to retire from international football and, if I was Gareth Southgate, I would do what I could to get him back in the England squad next summer.
I know the first thing people will say: what about Harry Kane?
Well, I’m not comparing the two players. as captain of the squad, Kane will always play and Vardy chose to call it quits 18 months ago because he felt he would never be a regular starter.
It is a situation with which I am familiar. During the peak years of my England career, I had michael Owen and Wayne Rooney ahead of me. No matter how well I was playing for Liverpool, Portsmouth or Tottenham, I knew I was turning up to be a substitute.
But I still ended up with 42 caps and 22 goals and I played at two World Cups.
Tournaments never go as you think they will and quite often you will see someone who started as a squad member finish the tournament as a regular starter.
Vardy would be a fantastic addition to Southgate’s plans. He might be 33 next month, but he has kept himself in excellent physical condition and, right now, Vardy is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most in-form strikers.
He is on a run of nine goals in seven games and I would not bet against him scoring in an eighth consecutive match when Leicester, who look to have made themselves certainties to finish in the top four thanks to this blistering start, face aston Villa tomorrow.
The fact Vardy is on course to break his own record of scoring in 11 Premier League games in a row, which came during Leicester’s titlewinning campaign, is remarkable.
I spoke to him recently and he told me how he is thriving under Brendan Rodgers, as are all Leicester’s squad. I accept that there will be people who argue his exceptional form is linked to having breaks when international fixtures come around. Believe me, the opportunity to take four or five days off during a season makes a massive difference.
With England, however, he could still be such a potent force. Imagine if anything happened to Kane. Who replaces him? Raheem Sterling, marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho give England a wealth of attacking options, but there is something different about Vardy.
Surely it has to be worth asking the question if you are Southgate? and surely it would be something Vardy (below) would consider if the call came. Tournaments are so special and the one next June has the potential to surpass the party of 2018.
If you have the chance to go to a tournament as a player, take it. and if you have the chance to pick a player as good as Jamie Vardy, do it. I said in these pages on September 18, 2018, that I felt Vardy’s England career would have one last twist. I hope that will be the case.