Will he hit 200th goal?
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It will be a hugely emotional afternoon at the King Power stadium when Jamie Vardy pulls on the Leicester City top for the last ever time. Vardy announced last month that he would depart the Midlands club after 13 years service and he’s arguably the club’s greatest ever player. Vardy’s footballing journey is one of fairytale as he progressed from non-League to Leicester before firing them to an unthinkable Premier League title in 2016. Vardy also won the English Championship and FA Cup with the Foxes and he won the Premier League golden boot in 2020 after scoring 23 times.
The 38-year-old’s farewell game will fittingly be his 500th for the club and it will be incredibly special if he finds the net against Ipswich as it will be his 200th goal for the club. Vardy has no ambitions of retiring and he recently expressed belief that he can continue playing at the highest level. “I’ll keep going until my legs tell me I need to stop,” Vardy told Sky Sports. “My legs are fine. I’m doing a sport that I love, it’s what I’ve done since I was a little kid so long may that continue.” It’s understood that Vardy would ideally remain in the Premier League but will he be afforded that opportunity? We’ve analysed five potential transfer destinations.
Jamie Vardy: Five potential next clubs
Everton
Everton would satisfy Vardy’s desire to remain in the Premier League and they’ve been linked in recent days. David Moyes is a wily manager and could utilise Vardy’s experience and goal scoring threat, especially from the bench. Everton will likely be in the market for two strikers in the summer with Dominic Calvert-Lewin departing on a free and Vardy could represent a shrewd option due to the Toffees’ financial constraints.
Leeds United
Vardy’s best chance of remaining in the English top-flight is realistically with one of the newly-promoted clubs next season. Burnley are another option but Leeds are a much bigger club and that could prove a decisive factor – his love of Red Bull would also be a marketing dream. Vardy would provide experience to Daniel Farke’s squad and could aid the development of Joel Piroe and the prodigiously talented Harry Gray.
Wrexham
While Vardy has hinted that a move to the English Championship club would be nearly impossible as he doesn’t want to face Leicester, Wrexham would be a box-office destination. The Welsh club are on a quest to reach the Premier League after achieving three consecutive promotions and they are financially empowered by their high-profile owners. There’s been talk of Vardy’s career being made into a movie, so where better to end his career than rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars.
Celtic
Moving to Scotland would be a fascinating prospect as it would allow Vardy to compete for trophies, play European football and represent a massive football club in either Celtic or Rangers. Celtic, however, seems the likelier destination given his strong relationship with Brendan Rodgers from working under the Northern Irishman at Leicester City. Vardy is also good friends with Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
MLS
There’s few better environments for major players to wind down their careers than the MLS given the attractive lifestyle and lack of language barrier. Vardy would appeal to several MLS clubs and he’s currently not on the discovery list of any franchise, so would have relative freedom to pick his club. Vardy enjoys a close relationship with the owners of Charlotte but they won’t be his only potential suitors.
