Vardy reveals why he snubbed Arsenal
Jamie Vardy has revealed that he turned down Arsenal because he believes Leicester can build on their stunning title win.
|||Jamie Vardy has revealed that he turned down Arsenal because he believes Leicester can build on their stunning title win, and that his decision to stay with the champions was endorsed by Roy Hodgson.
The Leicester striker admits he spent moments at the start of Euro 2016 contemplating his future, having been courted by Arsene Wenger, but he always leaned towards staying at the King Power Stadium.
Arsenal triggered his £20million release clause on June 3, just before he flew out to France with England, but 20 days later Leicester announced that the 29-year-old would sign a new contract.
‘The interest was a big compliment but there was nowhere else I wanted to be,’ said Vardy. ‘The team spirit we’ve got in the squad is second to none. You’re not going to get it anywhere else.
‘There is forward momentum and unfinished business in terms of what we can achieve. I feel the club is still going up.
‘What are those fairground rides? The volcano ones where you sit in a chair and just go whoosh! That’s what the owners want, and so does the boss (Claudio Ranieri). That’s what I want to be part of and I’m happy that I signed.
‘You do get a lot of spare time on England duty to think, but every time I thought about it, there was the same answer coming back — to stay where I was. So that’s what I did. I spoke to the England manager at the time, Roy Hodgson, and he said he thought I’d made the right choice. He was just happy it was all over.’
Vardy hopes his commitment to the club might prove a factor for Riyad Mahrez as the PFA Player of the Year weighs up a contract offer from Leicester.
The forward said: ‘There is nothing personally I can do. It is down to the club, the player and any interested parties. But hopefully my decision is a way of showing that clubs can be rejected.’
Vardy was speaking at his team’s hotel in Los Angeles, having joined them after being given a break to recover from surgery on his right wrist. The cast is due to come off tonight, meaning Vardy has the opportunity to get his first pre-season minutes against Barcelona on Wednesday.
Leicester certainly missed him in Saturday’s thumping 4-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain, but Vardy may have to wait for the Community Shield against Manchester United on Sunday.
While in Hollywood, Vardy had a meeting with the producer and writer of the film about his life, scheduled to come out next year. It gave him the chance to reflect on how much has changed in the space of a year.
In a nod to his time spent wearing an electronic tag after his assault conviction, Vardy said: ‘It is carnage. I don’t leave my house. I have put myself on a curfew but without the tag on my ankle.
‘I prefer to stay at home and spend more time with my wife and kids and on the computer.’
By contrast, Leicester are flying under the radar, with bookmakers believing both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool are more likely to win the Premier League this season than the defending champions.
‘It’s not disrespectful, that’s just how people are,’ said Vardy.
‘You’re always going to back a so-called bigger club, one that has won it 19 times or whatever, especially with the managers coming in. We just have to get on with our own business. We weren’t supposed to win the league. We just went out and enjoyed ourselves. When you do that, you play some of your best football. That is what won us the league.
‘Some say it was lucky that we won, but I don’t think you can be lucky over 38 games. To lose just four games in 47 is not bad going.’
For Leicester’s debut Champions League campaign, Vardy draws inspiration from last season’s runners-up Atletico Madrid.
‘I am not comparing us to them,’ he said. ‘But Atletico play 4-4-2 as well and it has worked for them, so it should work for us as well.’ – Daily Mail