Jamie Vardy: How ‘overpriced’ £1m deal became Leicester’s greatest bargain

When Leicester City paid £1million to Fleetwood for Jamie Vardy in 2012, paying him £8,000 per week, even Vardy thought they were paying over the odds.

A decade later, that deal now looks like one of the greatest pieces of football business.

He may have struggled initially to adapt to the Championship, and definitely had his off-field struggles, but he has developed into their talisman.

He is 35 now but talks are underway to extend his time at the club until he is 37, and even that might not be the end of Vardy’s Leicester career. The deal will be reviewed annually and, if he continues to defy the laws of longevity, it could be extended again.

His life is different now. He still enjoys a beer, but not the heavy sessions of his early days at Leicester. Having only joined the professional ranks in his mid-twenties, Vardy wants to make up for lost time and seems devoted to wringing every last drop out of his career.

He has an oxygen tent, a cryo chamber, compression boots and other devices to aid recovery at his Lincolnshire home. His pre-season statistics have confirmed his freakish ability to hold back the hands of time.

During the past 10 years, other strikers have come and gone. They may have been signed to challenge Vardy or even succeed him in the long run, but none has been able to overshadow him. Here, we look at how Vardy has held off all-comers to retain his status as the man Leicester just can’t live without.

The scruffy-looking small guy dressed in an oversized hoodie and sitting in the home dugout of the King Power Stadium looked more like one of the fans from the stands rather than a £1million ($1.2m) striker.

And at times during his debut season in 2012-13, he played like one, too.

He got off to a good start, scoring four in his first nine games, but only managed one more goal in the other 20 games he played. He did not even make it off the bench in either leg of Leicester’s play-off semi-final, which Watford won 3-2 on aggregate. His debut season ended with head coach Nigel Pearson holding crisis talks to prevent Vardy from quitting and becoming a rep in Ibiza.

He wasn’t the main striker — that was his best mate and future best man David Nugent, who scored 16 goals in 2012-13. Chris Wood was also signed for £1million in January and started with six goals in his first three games.

Adding to the competition was Tottenham Hotspur loanee Harry Kane but, like Vardy, the future England captain had to settle for a supporting role. When they did play, they were usually stuck out wide. It was inconceivable to think they would be senior England team-mates a few years later.

Leicester forwards, 2012-13

PLAYER MINUTES GOALS ASSISTS

Jamie Vardy

1,638

5

4

David Nugent

3,513

16

5

Chris Wood

1,850

11

4

Martyn Waghorn

1,167

3

5

Harry Kane

585

2

0

Jermaine Beckford

223

0

1

There was something different about Vardy when he turned up for pre-season in 2013, and it wasn’t just his cornrows haircut (or even the bandaged wrist he damaged when hitting a test-your-strength punching bag in Magaluf).

Vardy had spent the summer working on his fitness and seemed to have a spring in his step again. Nugent, known as “Nugey Pups” by his team-mates according to Vardy, remained Leicester’s main striker. Vardy had a supporting role, still playing out wide or as the second striker if central.

Wood remained but couldn’t sustain his incredible early form, and there was also the arrival of veteran and prolific striker Kevin Phillips, who would take Vardy under his wing and work with him on his finishing, instructing him in the art of picking his spot rather than lashing his shots.

Vardy’s 16 goals for the campaign included a tone-setting winner at Middlesbrough on the opening day, a season-defining strike in a 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers in December and a streak of five goals in four games during February and March that helped Leicester win the title by nine points.

He won the players’ player of the year award and signed a new contract until 2018.

Season 2013-14

Player

Minutes

Goals

Assists

3,108

16

11

3,798

22

13

1,154

8

6

249

2

0

575

3

4

64

0

1

Vardy had completed his rise from non-League to the Premier League. The cornrows had long gone. Now the mohawk was in.

So was a new £9million striker, Leonardo Ulloa, who was picked after glowing recommendations from the Leicester defenders who had faced him against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship. Ulloa would be the focal point of the attack, with Vardy playing on the left and Nugent on the right.

It was from the left wing that Vardy announced himself on the big stage, scoring one and providing four assists in an incredible 5-3 comeback win over Manchester United.

Later, he joked he “went missing” after the United game as Leicester looked destined for the drop. His second goal of the season didn’t come until March in a 4-3 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur but after a switch to a back three, Leicester and Vardy — first choice as the second striker — found their form again. He scored four goals in the final 10 games to help Leicester survive.

Season 2014-15

Player

Minutes

Goals

Assists

2,362

5

10

2,580

13

4

1,823

5

2

228

1

0

737

3

0

A change of manager in Claudio Ranieri and a change of role for Vardy. In the title-winning 2015-16 campaign, he finally became the main striker, with new £7million signing Shinji Okazaki in a deeper role. This was when Vardy truly came of age, becoming the talk of the Premier League and a regular in the England squad.

He scored or assisted in each of his first 17 games, a run that included a goal in 11 consecutive league games, breaking the Premier League record.

Leicester knew they might struggle to keep hold of their No 9.

2015-16

PLAYER MINUTES GOALS ASSISTS

Jamie Vardy

3,210

24

8

Leonardo Ulloa

1,356

6

4

Shinji Okazaki

2,222

6

2

Andrej Kramaric

234

1

0

It wasn’t until Vardy released his autobiography that people found out how close he came to signing for Arsenal. With a record of 10 goals in 14 games against Arsenal, Leicester are glad he stayed put.

Ranieri tried to change the way his champions had played and added to his attacking options, paying £30million for Islam Slimani, a striker in the Ulloa mould, and £16million for Ahmed Musa, a pacey forward more like Vardy who marked his arrival with an impressive display against Barcelona in pre-season.

Ranieri was forced to rely on Vardy as both new signings struggled to settle. When the Italian was sacked and former assistant manager Craig Shakespeare took charge, the emphasis on Vardy increased as Leicester reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

2015-16

PLAYER MINUTES GOALS ASSISTS

Jamie Vardy

3,210

24

8

Leonardo Ulloa

1,356

6

4

Shinji Okazaki

2,222

6

2

Andrej Kramaric

234

1

0

Another new striker would arrive in the summer of 2017, Kelechi Iheanacho from Manchester City for £25million. Was this a challenge for Vardy or a young player being primed as his eventual successor?

Initially, it was to support Vardy and ease the burden. In time, Leicester fans would come to understand that Iheanacho was a very different striker to Vardy. After a slow start, which culminated in the sacking of Shakespeare and the arrival of Claude Puel, Vardy hit form again.

The England international would score 13 in his final 17 games of the season as Leicester rallied. His form earned him a place at the World Cup but it also emphasised  Leicester’s over-reliance on their striker.

2017-18

PLAYER MINUTES GOALS ASSISTS

Jamie Vardy

3,543

23

1

Kelechi Iheanacho

1,289

8

4

Shinji Okazaki

1,578

7

4

Islam Slimani

645

5

2

Leonardo Ulloa

160

0

1

Ahmed Musa

90

1

0

If anything, the pressure on Vardy was even greater at the start of the 2018-19 campaign after Slimani and Ulloa moved on. However, a three-game suspension left Leicester needing others to step up. They could not seize the opportunity. In fact, no other player could reach double figures that season (new midfielder James Maddison was second in the club charts with seven goals). Under Puel, goalscoring had become a problem.

Strangely that season, Vardy didn’t seem a nailed-on starter. He came off the bench in the league four times, most notably when he was left out at Tottenham Hotspur, only to come on and immediately see his penalty saved by Hugo Lloris.

There was the playful moment when Vardy jumped out to shock Puel dressed as Spiderman, but it seemed their relationship wasn’t quite as joyous. When Puel was sacked, Brendan Rodgers embraced the reliance on Vardy, telling him as the new manager was introduced to his squad, “I’m glad you are here.”

Vardy scored 10 of his 18 goals after Puel’s departure in the final 11 games.

2018-19

Player

Minutes

Goals

Assists

2,883

18

4

1,156

2

4

494

0

1

Suddenly, the shackles were off. Leicester were an attacking force and Vardy reaped the benefits, finishing his first full season under Rodgers with the Golden Boot. At 33, he was the oldest striker to top the Premier League’s scoring charts.

He even threatened his goal streak record, bagging 11 in eight games, including a hat-trick in the 9-0 win at Southampton.

Rodgers had added £30million forward Ayoze Perez to the squad, but he was never a direct challenger to Vardy’s role. Centrally, Iheanacho finally started to show his talent.

Leicester won the FA Cup and finished fifth in the league, with Vardy the main man as he became the first Leicester player to score 100 Premier League goals. Only Ian Wright had made his Premier League debut at an older age before joining the “100 Club“.

2019-20

Player

Minutes

Goals

Assists

3,428

23

7

1,314

10

4

2,520

8

5

A three-year contract was Vardy’s reward, another indication of how highly Rodgers rated Vardy, but was he still the main man?

For the first time since 2015, Vardy didn’t finish as the club’s top scorer. Iheanacho stepped up in 2020-21, with 19 goals in all competitions. Thirteen of Vardy’s 17 goals came before Christmas and after that, it was Iheanacho who became the first real striker since Ulloa to ease Leicester’s reliance on Vardy. Playing in tandem with Vardy, the Nigeria international scored 13 goals in 11 games to help Leicester reach another FA Cup final.

Season 2020-21

Player

Minutes

Goals

Assists

3,421

17

9

2,258

19

7

1,883

3

1

Patson Daka became the latest striker to be signed to challenge Vardy but this time, there was no doubt he was coming with a succession plan.

The Zambian has similar attributes, with the pace and clever movement to make runs in behind opposition defences. He demonstrated that by scoring four goals in the Europa League against Spartak Moscow.

Injuries to Vardy’s hamstring and knee, which kept him out for 18 games across all competitions, caused his first significant absences and were seen as signs that Vardy, at 35, was finally slowing down. Fifteen goals in 25 Premier League games suggested he still had plenty to give.

He remained the club’s highest scorer in the league, but for the second consecutive campaign, was pipped to the club’s top scorer prize overall (Maddison, with 18).

2021-22

Player

Minutes

Goals

Assists

2,238

17

2

2,212

8

9

1,985

11

4

864

3

5

Daka has now gone through a season of adaptation and has shown signs of learning from Vardy. He seems ready to step up.

But Vardy is still the main man and, if fully fit, seems an obvious choice to lead Leicester’s attack. Rodgers says that will be assessed week by week.

“Time does play a part as you grow older but I don’t like to focus on it too much. Over pre-season, Jamie showed up really well in his measurements,” Rodgers said. “He still looks strong and fit, is very determined, and has a real appetite, which is important. We just assess it as the season goes on.

“I’ve been really pleased with Patson. He has come back and looked very good after adapting to the Premier League last year. I’ve seen the improvements and confidence in him and I’ve got no question he will score goals.

“He has settled in really well and he’ll be a really important player for us this year.”

(Top photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)