Arsenal Goes After Leicester's Jamie Vardy

Arsenal Goes After Leicester's Jamie Vardy

Claudio Ranieri, the Leicester City manager, has appeared to confirm Arsenal’s interest in the striker Jamie Vardy, according to a report in Italy.

The 29-year-old is believed to be on the verge of completing a move to north London after the £20million release clause in his contract was activated.

According to Saturday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian daily sports newspaper, when Ranieri was questioned about Vardy’s future, he told a journalist: “It’s all true.”

The quote appears in the print edition of the newspaper but not on its website, which carries a different version of the story.

Vardy, who scored 24 league goals in Leicester’s remarkable title-winning campaign, signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with the club in February to ward off interest from Manchester City.

The deal, however, is thought to include a clause which allows the England international to move to a club in the Champions League, provided that the club in question bids approximately £20million. 

Arsenal are believed to have triggered this clause after the move was sanctioned by Arsene Wenger, the club’s manager, and a move could be finalised before Monday.

Wenger has previously hailed Vardy, saying: “Yes he is worth [up to] £30m, because he is the best goal-scorer in the league. 

“You have many players under him who have been paid much more, and who don’t score that number of goals. Without a doubt, he is worth that money today.” 

Vardy signed for Leicester in 2011 from Fleetwood Town, having started his senior career at Stocksbridge Park Steels and risen through English football’s lower divisions.