No more years: Why Leicester City shouldn’t give Jamie Vardy a new contract
“Ten more years, ten more years” was the cry from the away end last Saturday as Jamie Vardy’s late double helped Leicester to a 5-0 win on a rainy afternoon in Stoke. But should we be giving the GOAT even twelve more months? We found three people who said… no.
Cut and run
James Knight
For financial reasons, as much as anything. Vardy is by all accounts the highest paid player in the Championship, and he's certainly not even first choice at Leicester now. This summer is the perfect opportunity to cut and run from some of the most egregious contracts on the books, and he hasn't shown enough to suggest he can hack it for another season at the highest level.
The only reason to extend him would be an emotional one. Which is fine, up to a point. But now we're at the stage where every season we're wishcasting the fact that he isn't really dead, that he still has something left in the tank, and using that to justify paying him twice as much as anyone else.
Winning the Championship with months to spare gives us the chance to have a proper organised send-off for him, sparing valuable money that we can use to actually improve the team next season. Better that than waving him goodbye with an awkward Instagram post in 2025 after the manager has forced him out, Schmeichel-style.
End on a high
Helen Thompson
It doesn't feel great to write this but all football love stories have to end and this one would hopefully at least end on a high note of getting back into the Premier League to cap off an incredible tale.
Fans can afford to be sentimental and want ten more years. But a football club shouldn't make decisions based on sentimentality or legacy. That isn't the only reason it's a no though. There's a financial factor to consider too. He's our highest paid player and he isn't close to being the first or even third name on the team sheet anymore.
If we were a different club that didn't have FFP issues or need to care about money then maybe we could listen to our hearts and extend him. But extending a 37 year old to mainly cameo off the bench for a large weekly wage (assuming he would want to retain his current package) doesn't seem like a successful start to returning to the Premier League.
The happy halfway house might be some kind of player-coach type deal but we'd surely have to look for him to drop his wages in order to do so? Keeping him around the club would make sense from a feel good factor but if we are serious about building again, he isn't a long-term option. I want him to finish being the goat we know and love.
Time for the send-off he deserves
Iain Wright
Football is the same as all walks of life. For a contract to be agreed, both parties need to be happy with its contents. Therefore, I simply can't see (or shouldn't be able to see, as anything is possible with Leicester City) a situation where both sides will be content.
From Leicester’s point of view, Vardy is obviously the greatest player we've ever had and I think it's important that his time here ends amicably. However, his current salary is reported to be enormous.
His current contract was signed in August 2022 on the back of 15 goals in 25 games the previous season. In a squad famous for its huge wages, I think it's fair to assume the GOAT is the most renumerated. Up until that point, he was worth every single penny. He was the difference and fundamental to our success. But, whispering it quietly and respectfully, he was very ineffective at Premier League level during our relegation season. 3 goals in 37 appearances - that's all.
This season, Vardy has shown a lot more leadership and responsibility and he is still contributing when called upon from the bench. But, as with the whole squad, its obviously a lower level of opposition we're up against.
This is where the 'problem' is. We can't renew his contract on the same terms he's on. So, offer him a smaller amount? From Vardy’s point of view, there will almost certainly be clubs out there, in Saudi Arabia or the USA for example, that may be able to offer a much larger salary than we should be offering as he'd be a marquee signing and different rules apply abroad.
Let's conclude this amicably and enable us to give him the send-off he deserves in May.
