'A Great Of This Football Club' – Rodgers On Vardy's 10-Year Anniversary
- Brendan Rodgers praises 'icon' Jamie Vardy on 10-year anniversary of his LCFC transfer
- The 35-year-old joined the Club from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2012
- Vardy has scored 163 goals for the Foxes, winning the Premier League and the FA Cup
- He is the Club's third all-time top goalscorer and City's highest-ever Premier League goalscorer
Ten years ago, on 18 May, 2012, a star of non-league football made the three-division jump from Blue Square Conference side Fleetwood Town to Leicester in the Sky Bet Championship. A decade later, Vardy is a winner of the Premier League, Championship, FA Cup and FA Community Shield.
He's played in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, also representing England at the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championships. City's No.9 is now third on the Club's all-time top goals tally and scored in 11 consecutive top-flight games in 2015.
A Premier League Golden Boot winner, FWA Footballer of the Year and two-time inductee into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year, Vardy's Leicester City career has been historic. Although injured for much of the 2021/22 campaign, the 35-year-old is joint-top of Leicester's seasonal charts this term.
"I think he’s a real icon of Leicester and of the league," Rodgers told the media this week. "His journey, coming into professional football at 25, and scoring his first Premier League goal at 27, and then to go on and score the goals he has and have the impact he’s had… he truly is such a unique player.
"We’ve seen it before with others like Ian Wright coming through and playing at the highest level to become top strikers, but Jamie’s story – from playing in qualification games in the FA Cup to going on to win it – winning the Premier League and playing in the Champions League, he really is a great of this football club, but also the Premier League. You can put him up there with the top strikers."
Vardy's Magnificent Leicester City Story So Far
On the 10-year anniversary of his move to Leicester City, LCFC TV celebrates Jamie Vardy's Foxes career - including historic goals, memorable moments aplenty and major silverware.
Despite being without Vardy for several months this term, the former Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town striker has hit double figures for the seventh consecutive season for the Foxes. For Rodgers, that's another example of his incredible quality in front of goal.
"Thankfully, if you’ve seen him in his last few games, he’s now getting his fitness," the Northern Irishman added. "Unfortunately for us, he hasn’t been able to play as much as we would’ve liked this season, but you see the impact he would’ve had on our team.
"The pace is still there, his cuteness, his cleverness, and his bravery is still very much there. Clearly, he was a great signing for the Club back then, from Nigel [Pearson] and the team of people that took him in. It was an absolute bargain when you look back 10 years later."