- Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy has extended his stay with the Football Club
- The Foxes captain will remain at King Power Stadium for City’s Premier League return
- He has won numerous trophies and accolades across his 12 years with LCFC
- Vardy reflected on the Championship title-winning campaign just gone and looked ahead to next season
A glittering Foxes career, including highlights such as the Premier League title, FA Cup glory, a Champions League Quarter-Final and two Championship-winning trophies to name but a few since joining back in 2012, is not finished just yet.
And as he sat down to discuss lengthening his already remarkable stay at King Power Stadium, some 464 games and 190 goals later, it was clear that the fire still burns bright to accomplish more with the Club he has written countless pages of history with across the last 12 years.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” Vardy commented, speaking from inside the Club’s media base at LCFC Training Ground during the off-season, barely a month on from lifting the second-tier champions trophy on Filbert Way.
“Obviously, the target at the start of last season was to get back into the Premier League and to do it the way we did and win the league, everyone was over the moon. It was a great season.
“I think what a lot of people don’t realise is that everyone was saying we had the best squad, but nothing is ever won on paper. We’ve got to go and put performances in, and you saw last season with how we were playing and getting the points, it worked wonders for us.
“What we need to realise is that it’s really hard to win. It always is. Every chance you get to lift a trophy or celebrate with the fans and your family, you have to make the most of it and I think that’s what you could see, especially on the last game of the season.”
Vardy’s personal contribution to the title win cannot be understated. The evergreen forward found the net 18 times in the league to finish as City’s top goalscorer in 2023/24. With 20 across all competitions, it’s the fourth season in which Vardy has broken that milestone in Leicester blue.
Overall, he has now moved into third on the Club’s all-time goalscoring list and only three players have featured more times for the Club in history. But while the record books keep being updated, Vardy insisted it is not yet time to look back and is much more focused on what is coming up, with plenty left in the tank.
“It probably could have been more, but you can’t score every time,” the Sheffield-born striker commented on his strike rate last season. “To get the numbers that I did, I’m delighted with it, but there’s still more to come.
“I look after myself. I’ve always said that age is just a number. My legs feel fine so that’s why I carry on until my legs say that’s it, game over. There will be a day when that comes, but that’s not right now.
“It’s one of those where I don’t give myself chance to reflect on it. The season finishes and you just want to forget about football. I think it’s going to be that I reflect more once my career is actually over.”
An instant return to the Premier League awaits for the Foxes, but taking a period of well-earned rest has been on the agenda for Vardy and his team-mates over the past couple of weeks. Basking in the glory of promotion will soon be over, however, as pre-season comes into view.
“It’s a long, hard, gruelling season,” the striker continued. “And so I just spend time with my family and go on holiday. Before you know it, summer is over and you’re back in for pre-season to start the season.
“We look forward to another season in the Prem and seeing what we can do. One hundred per cent, it’s the best league in the world. That’s where you want to be playing your football. That’s where you want to be putting your performances in and I’m sure all the lads will be well up for it.”
It’s a campaign that will begin with a new man at the helm, following the departure of Enzo Maresca. Vardy is looking forward to working with whoever is appointed and the beginning of a new chapter for himself and the Club.
He added: “In football, players and managers come and go, but the main thing is that the Club is always there. We’ve got a good track record so I’m sure the Club will be doing everything they can to get the right manager in and then come pre-season, we’ll just make sure that we get down to work and learn whatever the new manager has got for us.”