Premier League legend shares his doubts about out-of-form Leicester City star Jamie Vardy

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When Michael Owen discusses what it takes to be a natural goalscorer, it’s time to pay attention. But is he right about Jamie Vardy?

Michael Owen has told BT Sport that Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy does not strike him as a ‘natural’ goalscorer, The Mirror report.

Vardy’s 24 Premier League goals inspired The Foxes to a scarcely-believable title triumph last season, accounting for over a third of Leicester’s 68 Premier League strikes.

The former Halifax Town striker also shattered Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s thirteen year record for scoring in consecutive league games by netting 13 across 11 straight appearances in the early stages of last season.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, however, one of the most clinical centre-forwards of recent generations does not believe Vardy possesses the necessary qualities or playing style to be considered as a natural-born goal machine.

“Even when he was scoring loads of goals last season he wasn’t convincing me as a natural finisher,” Owen, the fifth highest goalscorer in the history of the England national team, said on BT Sport, as reported by The Mirror.

“He’s the type of centre forward or type of finisher that is very much head down and hit it. He goes for power a lot. He’s not necessarily a real cute, classy type of finisher.

“He doesn’t once lift his head. He almost hits it through goalkeepers. To be a finisher like that you need a lot of luck – sometimes you’ll have it, sometimes you won’t.”

Vardy’s stalling form has certainly impacted his side, with Leicester currently drifting in mid-table while their talismanic number nine is in the midst of an eleven game scoreless streak.

And, on reflection, it’s difficult to disagree with Owen’s perspective. The vast majority of Vardy’s goals last season were almost identical in their creation and conclusion; a raking ball over the top for the 29-year-old to race onto and smash into the net.

With defences increasingly wise to Leicester’s gameplan, Vardy has been given less space within which to operate and make his trademark darting runs in behind opposition backlines this season, coinciding with his vastly inferior goal tally.

A truly ‘natural’ centre-forward, meanwhile, would perhaps not be so reliant upon a certain specialism and learn to reinvent himself when defences became wise to his approach. However, Vardy is yet to prove he can adapt to increased attentiveness from Premier League opposition.