#360debate: Should Jamie Vardy leave Leicester in January?

Sport360 staff 05:40 30/11/2015
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  • Man of the moment: Jamie Vardy.

    Having broken Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Premier League record by scoring in an eleventh straight game against the Dutchman’s former club Manchester United on Saturday, Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy is understandably the Premier League’s hottest property.

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    He will never be spoken of in the same was as Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard or even Wayne Rooney, but Vardy’s achievement is remarkable given his often-mentioned rise through the English league system and he is attraction considerable attention.

    With the balance of financial power as it has been in European football over recent years, Leicester are doubtless preparing for a major January raid on their assets.

    Today’s #360debate is: Should Jamie Vardy leave Leicester if there’s interest in January?

    Alex Rea, sub-editor, thinks YES

    When January comes around, usurping his goalscoring record may not be the only that links Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy and Leicester City sensation Jamie Vardy.

    Like former targets Harry Kane and Danny Ings, the 28-year-old not only fits the bill from a playing perspective but he would also help fulfil the quota of homegrown players plying their trade at Old Trafford. That’s a commodity that not just United but any of the top sides would place high on their Christmas wishlist.

    And likewise, a move to a big club would be high on Vardy’s, too. At this stage and at his age this is the perfect time to take the next step in his development. His career has been founded on doing just that.

    A journey that started with Stocksbridge Park Steels in the EvoStik Northern Premier League and has led to his position in the England squad is thorough justification that Vardy has long since answered all the questions that have been asked of him.

    His detractors will claim he’s too basic to make an impact at England’s biggest clubs but he’s shown he offers more than just a deluge of goals. No Premier League forward has made more tackles (24), played more key passes (19) and had more shots on target (26) than Vardy.

    It’s his versatility that make him such a valuable asset, not just to the Foxes but to any side. Vardy’s got a winger’s pace and a striker’s precision, a combination that means he can play off the flanks or through the middle.

    How could United so insipid going forward and Chelsea so impotent in front of goal not utilise a player with those qualities? They both need that energy, pace and aggression and need it now for varying reasons. There’s just as much desire to make that move from Vardy, too.

    At 28, now is as good as he’s ever going to get; if a big team does elect to go in for him, it won’t be because they’re expecting him to hold down a place in the long term, it will be for his instant impact.

    Even from Leicester’s perspective it’s a move that makes sense because his value will only tail off from here. Vardy’s succeeded at every step up, now’s the time to complete his remarkable journey by hitting the peak.

    James Piercy, deputy editor, thinks NO

    It would be negligent of Leicester’s rivals not to try and sign England’s current best marksmen in January. Not only would they be significantly weakening Leicester but also potentially provide their own squad with an additional 5-10 goals that could be the difference between Champions League and Europa League or, in the case of Newcastle and Aston Villa, survival and relegation.

    From Vardy’s point of view, with respect to Leicester, the prospect of continuing his rapid rise in the game by turning out for one of England’s biggest clubs, would be extremely tempting and that’s not even taking into account financial considerations.

    But, assuming Leicester hold firm in the face of such interest, Vardy should remain exactly where he is. He’s at a team whose gameplan is perfectly in-tune with his talents as Leicester are the purest counter-attacking side in the Premier League.

    The majority of Vardy’s goals this season have been the result of him playing on the shoulder of the last defender and sprinting into space to collect a throughball. Vardy’s game, outside of his finishing, is about pace, power and the instinct and desire to find space.

    Not too many teams in England’s top flight play that way. Liverpool, Arsenal and, to a lesser degree, Chelsea all counter but still require a focal point for their midfielders to play off. The striker is not always the final piece in the puzzle.

    We may be doing Vardy a disservice, as who knows how his game can adapt, but the timing is all wrong. Having got himself into the England set-up, with Euro 2016 seven months away, it would be a risky move to take.

    Wayne Rooney, almost mystifyingly given his current form, is a lock for selection and, if fit, Theo Walcott and Harry Kane will more than likely go. That leaves one, maybe two places, for Vardy, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Andy Carroll, Troy Deeney or even Charlie Austin or Saido Berahino.

    Why make Roy Hodgson’s decision more complicated by moving to another club, taking time to earn a first-team spot and integrate yourself into a new, potentially alien, style of play? Vardy’s in the perfect place to make his 2016 even better than his remarkable 2015.

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