500 appearances, 200 goals, 13 years of dutiful service. We all know the chronicle of Jamie Vardy: from non-league to Premier League, FA Cup, and Championship winner; playing in the Europa League, Conference League, Champions League, and his career waited until later in his life to really explode onto the scene. The name, the story, and the impact are all a major part of Vardy’s heritage with the Foxes.
To fill that gap would be no small feat for whoever gets the task. From new signings, Patson Daka, to young academy players looking to make their mark, there are options for Leicester to choose from. Let us look at the impact the leaving legend leaves and what the successor will need to do.
Leicester City’s historic talisman
13 years of service, turning down Arsenal, and helping to guide Leicester City first to the Premier League title, then to European competition, to win the FA Cup, and get promoted back to the EPL after their first dreary campaign. Vardy fought for the badge, set records, and it feels impossible to see who could possibly take that mantle. The answer is probably no one player.
Across those 13 seasons, Vardy had the highest combined goals and assists in six campaigns, and within the top five in all but his first season. That was the 2012-13 EFL Championship season where David Nugent was top. It is clear that whoever takes the No.9 shirt will need to put in the legwork to secure goals, the killer passes to collect assists, and yet this numbers game is not everything.
Jamie Vardy was a character. A leading personality that dragged everyone else along with him. In those tiring lows, the Englishman would be one of the players running tirelessly across the pitch, covering ground to rouse teammates, defend the goal, and create opportunities. We saw it with Bilal EL Khannouss & Facundo Buonanotte this season, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall & Abdul Fatawu last season, and Jame Maddison & Harvey Barnes or Marc Albrighton for quite some time.
In the media, Vardy took a different role: ‘Mr Leicester City’. The Foxes’ No.9 was what the King Power Club was about. The very identity and fabric of what made this team tick, what made it exciting to watch, and fun to support. The short-term England international forward defined what it meant to be Leicester, by being cheaper, but not worse, a fighter, hungry, and always ready to beat the top teams.
Who can fill the gap
Patson Daka cannot. A new signing cannot. An academy graduate cannot. No player in the squad currently can. This is not to say they cannot take part of the burden, but realistically it will take a core of players to really take the mantle, define what we are in the coming years, remain hungry even in adversity, and tirelessly run around the pitch doing whatever has to be done.
For me, in the coming season, Daka will either make his mark, or seal his fate. The Zambian international has to be a goalscorer and must defend from the front to help guide the team to a strong challenge at the top of the Championship. Meanwhile, he will need Fatawu, Stephy Mavididi, Khannouss if he stays, and Will Alves to push the team forward and replace the goals and assists lost.
In terms of leading that group, dragging them from the depths of the Championship, I only see three players who might have the excitement factor and love from the supporters for that: Ricardo Pereira (who’s future is uncertain), Abdul Fatawu, and Conor Coady. Coady is a natural leader, but one who’s performances are slowing down. Fatawu may not be a commander, but he is a tempo setting who demands better of his team on the pitch, and the ever-injured Pereira would be the perfect captain.
For me then, Jamie Vardy’s successor must be an exciting young prospect, backed by a talented and loved core of players that are hungry for Leicester City to succeed. They do not need to be everything the talisman was, they just have to score goals, and love the badge.