Jamie Vardy turned down Arsenal after the Gunners triggered his £22 million release clause.
The rise of Jamie Vardy is one of the most inspirational ones in modern football, from non-league football to international tournaments and Premier League success, it is no wonder a Hollywood screenwriter was lured in.
However, last summer presented something of a crossroads for the England international. Having just secured an unprecedented league title triumph with Leicester – a side who had been playing Championship football two years previously – he was offered his first big-money move at the age of 29.
With Arsenal in the hunt for a pacey goal-getter, Arsene Wenger was convinced by Vardy’s 24-goal season and subsequently triggered the £22 million release clause in his contract. After much deliberation, Vardy declined the Gunners’ offer, choosing instead to commit himself to a four-year deal at the KC Stadium before declaring it an ‘easy decision’.
This weekend, Arsenal produced a scintillating display to torch Chelsea with three first-half strikes and move up to third in the league. Despite the murmurs of discontent regarding Wenger’s inaction in the transfer market, the squad are clicking with four consecutive league wins evidence of that. Last season’s champions, on the other hand, endured a nightmarish first-half at Old Trafford, shipping four goals before both Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were hauled off at half-time.
Claudio Ranieri’s men may not have had aspirations of repeating their extraordinary feats, but they are already 11 points off the summit in 11th position. The absence of N’Golo Kante has removed a layer of defensive steel, with three separate sides hitting four goals against them this month. An opening day loss to Hull City also failed to inspire confidence.
The likes of Mahrez have looked off the boil as of late, while the peerless energy and running that made Vardy such a nuisance last season has evaporated from his game. Choosing to adopt the role of a predatory goal-poacher, the England international has barely had much of a sniff, notching just two goals to date.
With competition for places so tight on the international scene, Vardy will be hoping that he does not get lost in the mid-table scrapheap, where the likes of Mark Noble, Ryan Shawcross and Charlie Austin struggle to get noticed.
Vardy signalled that he was looking forward to the Foxes’ debut Champions League campaign, but unless lightning strikes again it will be their last for a while. While the former Halifax Town centre forward might relish the opportunity to line out alongside his mates in a European tie for the club who plucked him from non-league obscurity, Arsenal are the club with the long-term potential.
With the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott to back him up, Vardy would have flourished in the Gunners’ forward line, and with the Gunners looking capable of mounting a title challenge this year, would certainly
Vardy played in Brugge two weeks ago, and is ready for his first European night at the KC Stadium when Leicester take on FC Porto. Such is the nature of the tournament, the England international will quickly develop an appetite and hunger for the tournament, so when it is inevitably pulled away from him, he will undoubtedly suffer from withdrawal symptoms.
Vardy will be 30 in January, and the Foxes’ transition from Premier League champions back into mid-table fodder could well be complete by then. They won’t be in the running for the league title, nor will they the top four. Even the Europa League spots look a stretch at the moment, for a side whose defence looks to have been replaced by that of a pub side’s this summer.
Let’s just hope for his own sake that when Allardyce decides his international squad is not fit for strikers dueling at the wrong end of the table, while Arsenal challenge on European and domestic fronts, that he does not end up lamenting his decision.
England’s Jamie Vardy
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