Can Leicester City still rely on Jamie Vardy?

Leicester City veteran striker Jamie Vardy is a legendary striker, however, the time has come to consider a future without the English rags to riches star.

From non-league to the Premier League, playing in the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, the Championship and all levels of domestic competition, our legend remains unsurmountable. Not even the already brilliant Erling Haaland has anything on Jamie Vardy.

However, times change fast in the world of football. For the King Power club, their league winning legends are in the twilight of their careers, and Vardy may be no different. Nevertheless, the English striker, Marc Albrighton, and Kasper Schmeichel have continued to play reliably for the side.

Leicester City’s story

Vardy is the personification of our story. Our rise from the doldrums to the summit of English football harmonises with his explosion from Fleetwood Town to winning the Premier League. For the Foxes, there is no better player to have.

The pressing forward has been monumental to the side. Accumulating over 380 appearances for the East Midlands side, and notching up over 160 goals plus over 60 assists. He is a giant of the game. Leicester City are lucky to have had such a reliable player.

However, just as the Foxes can no longer be relied upon to beat the lower league teams, Vardy is not as reliable as he once was. Just as he personifies what is good about our club, the striker equally harmonises with what is now terrible.

The injury record under Brendan Rodgers has been abysmal. The worst problem has been injuries to our main striker disrupting the rhythm of the side and forcing the club to alter their system and tactics to fit either the less aggressive Patson Daka or more of a target man in Kelechi Iheanacho.

When this happens, the sudden alteration of system can be jarring for the players. With little high-quality depth, it becomes a struggle to rebuild momentum. In short, with the legend we are able to play the way we want; but, without Vardy we become wasteful.

Hence, I believe it is time to reserve him – alongside Jonny Evans – for the biggest matches and bench duty. To protect the longevity of his career and the ability of the Foxes to maintain a consistent form with either of the African strikers we have. The King Power side could even begin using George Hirst.

We cannot rely on the English striker to play constantly, so we must only rely on him when absolutely necessary to win. Though in saying that I recognise we may have to deploy him against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth with how Leicester finished the 21/22 campaign.