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| Jamie Vardy has been a revelation since Brendan Rodgers arrived at the King Power Stadium at the end of February, scoring 19 goals in 22 games |
Brendan Rodgers is hoping the purity of Leicester will convince Jamie Vardy to remain with the Foxes โfor many more yearsโ.
Vardy has been a revelation since Rodgers arrived at the King Power Stadium at the end of February, scoring 19 goals in 22 games, including 10 this season, and five in his last three appearances.
Vardy and Leicester next face Arsenal at home on Saturday, a club the 32-year-old considered joining three years ago following the Foxesโ fairytale Premier League triumph.
Instead, he opted to remain with a club he joined for just ยฃ1million from Fleetwood over seven years ago.
Assessing why Vardy turned his back on the Gunners, Rodgers said: โItโs about the individual, and itโs not just the football, itโs family.
โSometimes players have to weigh up everything. He was at the stage in his career where he had just come off the back of being a champion, worldwide status for that season, and the story behind it.
โBut he also probably had to sit down and reflect on the next part of his career, and thankfully for me, he stayed.โ
Rodgers has dismissed suggestions that at Arsenal, Vardy would no longer have been the focal point of the attack, as has long been the case with Leicester, instead citing the nature of the club itself as a key reason for spurning a move to north London.
โThe one thing I know from Jamie Vardy is that he is a team player,โ added Rodgers.
โOf course, he is a top striker but he loves competition. He is a competitor. I see it every day in our working time together.
โI donโt think being the main manโฆhe is the type of guy who has proven himself all his life, all his career, and he has proven himself to be one of the top strikers in Europe, for me.
โIt wouldnโt have been because of that (not being number one) he didnโt go to Arsenal.
โThere were a number of things โ he was offered a good deal here, he probably felt comfortable and stable here.
โItโs an incredible club. When you see all the paraphernalia around the Premier League, this is a club thatโs pure, that has community spirit and doesnโt get carried away with all the stuff the Premier League can bring.
โHe is the type of guy Iโm sure enjoyed that, being looked after.โ
Although Rodgers is unsure whether Vardy will see out his playing days with Leicester, he at least hopes the forward will not be lured away for some time to come.
โHis best years will be here, and if you look at him now there are a few more to go yet,โ assessed Rodgers.
โHe is still so sharp, so clinical, and fit. Heโs 33 in January but he looks after his body. Maybe not having played so much early on in his career is helping him at the back end.
โAnd then what he wants to do in a few yearsโ time, you never know. He may want to play elsewhere in another country, which he could do, but hopefully he is going to be here for many more years.โ
REUTERS
