Why Sam Allardyce decided against signing Jamie Vardy

Sam Allardyce has revealed just why he did not sign Jamie Vardy from Fleetwood Town for West Ham United all the way back in 2011.

The Leicester City star could have gone to West Ham United for only a million; however, the newly appointed “Big Sam” wasn’t sure if signing a non-league player was a risk worth taking at the time.

Vardy netted 31 goals that season for Fleetwood before being snapped by Leicester in the summer of 2012. The rest, as they normally say, is history.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Allardyce said:

"“When I was at West Ham and I needed some goals Mickey Mellon, who played for me, he’s a brilliant manager and he is at Tranmere now.“But he rang me up and he said ‘We can’t sign Jamie Vardy; he won’t stay with us Sam. Give us a million quid and it will be the best signing you have ever made’.“And that was quite a bit of money for a non-league player, I’m talking 2011, in my first season at West Ham.“I just wondered if Jamie could jump out of the conference and come in for our first year of the Premier League.“So I didn’t do it and I have been kicking myself ever since because he went to Leicester instead with Nigel [Pearson] and [Craig Shakespeare] Shakey.“I went to David Sullivan and he said ‘Non-league player for £1million? Will he go straight in your team?’And I said ‘I’ve been told by his manager I will not regret it.’”"

What could have been. Vardy in a West Ham shirt. It just doesn’t seem right at all.

This is Mr. Leicester who we are talking about, and to even think of him playing for any other club feels like a sin of the highest order. It will be like imagining Tony Adams in a Manchester United shirt; or like imagining Ryan Giggs in a Chelsea shirt.

In the Premier League era, no player has embodied the Leicester spirit as well as he has with all his fearlessness and a never-give-up attitude.

He was in the vanguard of the “Great Escape” in 2014/15, he was in the vanguard of the historic title win in 2015/16 and he has pretty much been at the forefront in everything the club has done since.

With 90 PL goals to his name, Vardy is no more a Leicester legend but also your typical Premiership legend, the type who generations will remember as much for his antics as his goals.