Atletico Madrid want Jamie Vardy – but will Leicester City sell him?
Atletico Madrid have reportedly lined up Jamie Vardy as a potential replacement for Antoine Griezmann. With the summer transfer window now open, is it possible that Leicester City will move on from their celebrated no.9?
Diego Simeone has been a fan of the English international ever since he scored against Atletico during Leicester’s UEFA Champions League Quarter-finals match against the Spanish club. After finishing second in the La Liga and winning the UEFA Europa League, a striker like Vardy is necessary for Atletico’s continued success.
Jamie Vardy by the numbers
Statistically speaking, Jamie Vardy is a striker of high quality. In his four seasons in the Premier League, the 31-year old has made 142 appearances for the Foxes and has 62 goals, 20 assists, and a shooting accuracy of 48%. During the title-winning campaign of 2015/16, he ended up at second in the Golden Boot race with 24 goals. This season, he ended at fourth with 20 goals. All of this to say that Vardy has consistently been one of the most dangerous strikers in the league.
Vardy’s thunderous boots are also matched by his lightning speed. Since the beginning of the 2015/16 season, the Leicester attack has relied heavily on Vardy and his pace.
The implementation of a pace-driven attack created a dangerous blitzkrieg offense. Because of this, Vardy became Leicester’s most important player up front. Since the 2015/16 campaign, Vardy has produced 33.1% of Leicester’s league goals.
Atletico Madrid’s interest in Vardy is not shocking. The Englishman is a top striker with a lot of talent left in him; however, will Vardy ask to go and will the Leicester City Board allow him to?
Will Jamie Vardy leave?
If Vardy requests to leave, it is understandable. At 32, it is unknown when Vardy’s quality will finally dip due to his age. Granted, Vardy does not have as much wear and tear under his belt as other strikers of his age because of his time in non-league football.
However, no one can beat father time. Because of this, going to Atletico Madrid is probably the last chance the England international may get of returning to the UEFA Champions League.
Will Leicester sell?
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the Leicester Board have made clear that the Foxes want a summer overhaul that will establish them as a top seven team. Claude Puel will have a summer spending spree, already paying £22 million for 24-year-old FC Porto defender Ricardo Pereira. This is a key move, as they have shown that they are willing to pay a lot for young players.
Though Vardy has been one of the major faces of the team since 2012, the English international will be turning 32 during the 2018/19 campaign. As noted before, Vardy’s quality will eventually drop because of his age. Also, Puel has a history of quickly replacing aging veterans with young, up and coming talent. Interestingly enough, Vardy’s replacement is already high on the club’s priority list.
21-year-old Kelechi Iheanacho is a quality player who can become a world-class striker in time. The Nigerian international usually plays behind Jamie Vardy but feels far more comfortable when he is in the primary striking role. If Vardy is sold, Puel can unleash one of the most promising young players in football.
With Atletico Madrid trying to win now and Leicester City wanting to rebuild for the future, it seems that selling him could be a win-win situation for both clubs.
There’s no way, surely?
It is clear that Leicester City do not sell players that they want to hold on to, even if they want to leave. Case and point is Riyad Mahrez. On May 30, 2017, Mahrez released a statement thanking the Leicester faithful and the board, and subsequently handed in a transfer request.
Nearly a year and an additional transfer request later, he is still in the team. It shows that only a jaw dropping bid would cause the Foxes to even consider selling Vardy.
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Reports state that Atletico Madrid want to put in a £20 million bid for the former Fleetwood Town forward, but there is zero chance that Leicester would sell a player like Vardy for that low a price.
Even with his age it is highly unlikely that the Foxes would sell one of the most important players in the club’s history for that much. Further, it is unlikely that Leicester City would want to sell a player that is so connected with the club.
A Fox forever
Jamie Vardy epitomizes the Leicester City mantra: “Foxes Never Quit”. When the rest of the team has given up, Vardy is still zipping around and fighting for the ball, no matter what.
A player that exemplifies the heart and soul of a club does not come along so often. What makes playing for Leicester special is what makes Vardy special, and because of this he may not want to leave in the first place.
Vardy has two years left on his contract and a pay raise will be coming for him pretty soon. Leicester want to see Vardy retire as a Fox and he likely wants to do the same. If he continues to play for City, he will statistically become the greatest player to put on a Leicester kit. Further, he will be in the hearts of the Blue Army for generations to come, and Vardy knows this.
Jamie Vardy is the heart and soul of the Foxes, and Claude Puel knows this, too. With the aging Wes Morgan likely to take a backseat, Puel has stated that Vardy will become the new Leicester City captain. Vardy as captain would be a perfect fit, as the Englishman will likely be one of the last Leicester players from the title-winning season in years to come.
Don’t change too fast
The Leicester City Board and Claude Puel want a summer overhaul and to start to invest in youth. However, the club cannot change too fast.
The club is starting to turn away from the players that won the title two seasons ago. With young replacements found for Danny Simpson, Christian Fuchs, and Wes Morgan, the nagging injuries to Shinji Okazaki and Kasper Schmeichel, the likely selling of Riyad Mahrez, and the departure of Robert Huth, the Foxes will have fewer and fewer players from that title-winning team playing for them. The only one left would be Jamie Vardy.
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Vardy is far too productive a player to sell for the price Atletico Madrid are paying; however, Vardy means more to the club anyway. His story is the Leicester City story: An unlikely underdog found incredible success by being scrappy, gritty, and never giving up. For all these reasons and more, Jamie Vardy is Leicester City.