Slavia Prague defender David Zima believes Jamie Vardy is ‘the best striker in the Premier League’ and is relieved to come through a meeting with the Leicester City talisman unscathed, in quotes reported by Sport.
The mere thought of Vardy bearing down on you, his whirring feet thudding across the turf, is enough to give defenders nightmares.
Even at the age of 34, football’s ultimate late-bloomer remains as formidable as ever. And Zima must have been quaking in his boots as Vardy ripped Liverpool’s backline apart like wet tissue paper at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
So Zima would have been breathing an almighty sigh of relief when Vardy trudged off, replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho, with half an hour remaining during a goalless Europa League last-32 clash in the Czech capital.
He did what Ozan Kabak and co failed to do – survive a skirmish with the street-fighter striker.
“I’m glad I was able to confront the best striker in the Premier League, I think,” said the 20-year-old central defender.
“I learned that I would be in the starting XI two days ago. Vardy was not easy, he has a different style than all the other strikers in the world.”
Leicester struggled to create clear cut chances in Prague, although the electrifying Harvey Barnes was once again a near-constant menace on the left-hand side.
“I have to say Barnes was definitely Leicester’s most dangerous player,” Zima added. “But of course, Vardy was also very annoying. He’s still waiting for his opponent’s mistake, which is terribly annoying.
“He can score immediately.”
Vardy’s replacement, Kelechi Iheanacho, failed to make any sort of an impact during his cameo appearance and Zima believes that Slavia dealt well with the alternative threat posed by the Nigeria international.
“When Iheanacho came on, we played him better than Vardy.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
