Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring for Leicester City against Brighton in the Premier League
Jamie Vardy may not sprint as frequently during matches but has lost none of his goalscoring instincts
Coming soon to your television screens: the story of Jamie Vardy, the Leicester City and Premier League legend who, a little over three weeks before his 38th birthday, continues to defy the passing of time.
The Vardy party is still in full swing and next year Netflix are set to stream a new documentary telling the tale of his journey from the wind-blasted pitches of non-league to the very top.
Vardy will join a stellar list of high-profile names including David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to have his career covered in a special television series. Filming is already under way and Netflix is hoping to have the series completed by next autumn.
To put his everyman dream into context once again, Vardy is the £1 million signing from non-league Fleetwood Town who has won the Premier League and Championship titles, the FA Cup, Community Shield, Premier League Golden Boot and has scored in major tournaments for England. Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are just two of the managers who would have loved to sign him over the years.
After Leicester’s return to the top division, Vardy is adding a few more chapters to the fairytale. This season, he has scored six goals already and is proving indispensable to Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose record for scoring in consecutive Premier League games was broken by Vardy in Leicester’s 2015/16 title-winning season when the latter went on an 11-game run.
It is a measure of Vardy’s status at Leicester that shortly after his appointment, Van Nistelrooy made a personal call and asked him what the team needed to improve.
Jamie Vardy with the Premier League trophy after Leicester's title triumph in 2016
Vardy’s journey from non-league to Premier League title winner is the subject of a new Netflix series
“He is someone who has been performing for so many seasons and he’s still a great striker,” said Leicester’s manager. “Jamie is never bothered about the occasion or the pressure. He’s always ice-cold.”
Vardy turns 38 on January 11 and is unquestionably one of the most iconic figures in the Premier League’s recent history: which makes his story an obvious target for a streaming giant like Netflix. He has been remarkably consistent and, perhaps even now, does not receive the high praise he deserves [he has won more team accolades than Harry Kane].
When he finally retires, we may never see a repeat of this rags-to-riches story again. Those who know him best say he is not wired up like the rest of us. A unique character in the dressing room, ‘Vards’ is always the man for practical jokes and brightening the mood.
The pre-match routine has remained unchanged: three Red Bulls (one at home, one at the stadium with a cheese and ham omelette, and one shortly before kick-off, usually with a double espresso).
In preparing for matches, he has been known to teach himself choice insults in the native language of the centre-backs marking him.
Earlier this season before a morning session, he amused himself by simply booting balls at the windows of Leicester’s vast training ground HQ.
As he was substituted against Tottenham in the first match of this campaign, Vardy announced his return to the Premier League in inimitable fashion.
Raising one finger at the travelling supporters who had chanted abuse at him throughout, he then quickly made a zero sign to compare title wins between the two clubs. It all added further fire to the Vardy legend, and underlines that he is still having the time of his life.
Jamie Vardy gestures to the travelling Tottenham Hotspur fans after scoring against them for Leicester
Jamie Vardy reminds Tottenham fans how many Premier League titles their team have won
That drive and hunger from the days of non-league, when he would drive to matches in his battered Renault Clio after working long hours in factories, has remained undimmed. He is still a popular member in WhatsApp groups with old team-mates from those days with Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town and Fleetwood.
It is remarkable that he continues to prove such a pest in a division that is arguably more reliant on athleticism than ever before, with the average age of squads becoming younger all the time.
When Leicester secured promotion back to the Premier League last season, there was a feeling that Vardy wanted to prove to people that he could still cut it at the top level. So far, he has done that emphatically.
There is no question that he has cleverly prolonged his career by being astute and taking care of his body. At his Lincolnshire home, he has a cryotherapy chamber which he sits in for hours after matches.
In matches he does not charge around anywhere near as much as he used to, when he played off the shoulder of defenders.
Instead, he has tailored his game to drop deeper at times and link up play. The devastating pace around the penalty area and shark-like instinct to react quickly is still there, however, and even today I believe he does not receive enough credit for his finishing. It is lethal.
He is usually the first to report for training at around 8.30am, and nowadays has one recovery day a week [usually two days ahead of matchday].
Even on those supposed days off, he regularly comes along to watch his team-mates train.
Vardy is a man devoted to his family, and once said that nights at home in front of the television are his idea of perfection.
This season, he will be just as invaluable to Leicester as he has ever been. Leicester appear to be one of four to six clubs who will be embroiled in the scrap to avoid finishing below the dreaded dotted line. This Sunday, they face Wolves at home in what already appears hugely significant to the seasons of both clubs.
With 142 Premier League goals and counting to his name, Vardy remains one of Leicester’s most potent and feared weapons.
Shooting them to survival would be a fitting finale to the story, soon to be chronicled in glorious high definition on TV.
Join the conversation
The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy.