Manchester United and Chelsea are reportedly both interested in signing veteran English striker Jamie Vardy from fellow Premier League club Leicester City.
According to 90 min, Manchester United and Chelsea are monitoring Jamie Vardy’s situation at Leicester City as their respective searches for a number nine continue. The former England international has just a year remaining on his contract with the Premier League club, and talks over a possible extension are yet to begin.
Jamie Vardy has been one of the greatest signings in Leicester City history. The veteran striker joined the Premier League for a fee of around €1 million in the 2012 transfer window from Fleetwood Town. With time, the 35-year-old has grown into one of the best centre-forwards in Premier League history, leading Leicester to a historic league title win in the 2015/16 season.
Vardy has played 385 matches for the Foxes across all competitions, scoring 164 goals and providing 63 assists in those outings. The English forward has scored at least 13 goals in each of the last seven Premier League seasons.
Vardy missed a good chunk of the 2021/22 season due to a hamstring and a knee injury but still scored 17 goals across all competitions for Leicester in 33 matches. His powers are waning, but he is still not completely out of touch considering he was a late bloomer.
A few Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on Vardy, including Chelsea and Manchester United. Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers, however, has sounded confident about Vardy extending his stay with the club when asked about it during the 2021/22 season.
“There probably will have been some discussions behind the scenes, but at this moment in time, we’re quite relaxed on it,” Rodgers said. “He’s very happy here. I’m sure we’ll assess it and look at it in the summer.”
Leicester need to offload a few players to make way raise funds for new signings and are discussing possible exits of Newcastle United target James Maddison and Chelsea target Wesley Fofana. Therefore, it is unclear whether they will part ways with another of their important players. They have also allowed Kasper Schmeichel to join OGC Nice.
Chelsea are yet to bring in a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, and with Timo Werner facing an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge, they could do with someone like Vardy until Armando Broja is ready to become the first-choice striker. On the other hand, Manchester United are in a spot of bother over the long-term future of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United have also seen Edinson Cavani depart from Old Trafford, thus necessitating the need to sign a striker. Chelsea and Manchester United have also shown interest in Benjamin Sesko, but Vardy could be a solid short-term investment, considering his extensive Premier League experience.
