STILL A THREAT
CITY’S TALISMAN VARDY, 34, CAN STAY AT TOP FOR FEW MORE YEARS, CLAIMS RODGERS
AGE is just a number for Jamie Vardy with Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers backing the striker to stay at the top for a few more years yet.
City’s home clash with Southampton tonight will be Vardy’s first game since turning 34 on Monday.
But while most forwards are well beyond their peak by that age, City’s number nine has shown no signs of slowing and is challenging for the Golden Boot again.
When Vardy finished as the top flight’s top goalscorer last season, he was the oldest player to claim the honour since 1948.
After a game’s break in the FA Cup, he is set to return to the line-up tonight and will hope to continue his charge up the goalscoring ranks.
“Nobody thinks of his age and that is a huge testament to how consistently well he’s played and how he looks after his body,” Rodgers said on Vardy.
“He’s such a threat for us. I’m pretty sure he will always be a real threat to opposition defences.
“He’s blessed genetically but he’s also a fantastic professional so I expect him to keep going for a period of time yet.”
“He is more than that (his pace). That is his strength and something we try to utilise. But if you watch him his speed is not going away so soon.
“There will come a time where the legs will slow up a wee bit, but he is a goalscorer, so if he is not on the last line then he is still a great threat in the box and it is up to other players to find him and serve him.
“If he stays clear of injury and gets luck with injuries he still has a good few years yet.”
Vardy has 11 league goals and is on target to hit 20 for a fourth season for City. In total for the club, he has found the net 142 times, placing him fourth on the all-time list.
His contract runs out in the summer of 2023, when he will be 36.