The Jamie Vardy story nearly wasn’t one at all. His time at Leicester City could have ended without the silverware, without the records, without the hero-worship. He was not destined to achieve everything he has.
Because the first season was difficult. He may have scored 31 goals in 36 Conference games for Fleetwood to earn his £1m transfer, but a jump of three divisions is huge.
It seemed like it was too big a leap for Vardy, and he thought so too. During a maiden campaign in which he scored just four league goals for City, he asked if he could go back to Fleetwood on loan.
Nigel Pearson, Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh had more faith in Vardy’s ability – and in their scouting and coaching – than the striker did in himself. They rejected his request and he remained at City.
David Nugent was one of the established strikers at City, alongside Jermaine Beckford and Martyn Waghorn, at the time of Vardy’s signing. He felt unnerved the moment the new man walked through the door.
Not only was he a threat to Nugent’s starting spot, but he put on a confident front that was unusual for a new arrival.
Nugent says: “When he signed, I thought: ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ He’s potentially come to take my place in the team, so I saw him as a rival when he first joined.
“I remember (his first day). He walked in the changing room in a pale blue t-shirt, red shorts and white socks.
“Being Jamie Vardy as he is, he comes straight in and starts speaking as if he knows everybody from the off.
“Usually you get a shy guy coming in who doesn't speak to anybody for the first three weeks but he was straight in from the off and the lads were like: ‘Who's this guy?’
“I think at first a lot of people took time to accept him because he was from non-league.”
Accustomed to a different way of life during his non-league years, and to a different way of training, Vardy struggled to adapt.
In recent years, even as Vardy has moved towards his late 30s, he’s been near the top of the class for the intense pre-season running test. When he first arrived, he didn’t have the stamina to even complete it.
With the challenge of adapting to the three-division leap, and without regular goals to provide boosts of confidence, Vardy struggled with self-doubt that the confident exterior perhaps hid.
Nugent says: “I struggled to get on with him at first because he didn't apply himself right in training. But that's probably because he's just come from non-league.
“Everyone saw his struggles in his first year. He couldn’t adapt to the quality of the football at the time.
“He wanted to leave, go on loan, play somewhere else, but Nige, Shakey and Walshy told him to stay and crack on. Look what he’s achieved now.
“I think, when you come from non-league, it’s a big step to come to the Championship. But he’s a proven goalscorer wherever he’s been.
“Maybe his game management wasn’t the best when he first joined, but if you put him through one-on-one, you knew the ball was going to end up in the back of the net.
“And once you get hold of him and get to know him, he's such a down-to-earth player who wants to work hard and do well for the team.”
Get your special Jamie Vardy edition of the Leicester Mercury
Jamie Vardy souvenir edition of the Leicester Mercury
It was certainly a fairytale ending to Jamie Vardy's Leicester City career - netting his 200th goal in his final match for the club.
To celebrate, we are launching a this special edition of the Leicester Mercury where we look back at the striker's amazing career - his journey from non-league to England international, his greatest goals and where he stands in the Foxes' list of all-time greats.
We also revisit the trophy-winning campaigns - the 2021 FA Cup and, of course, the 2016 Premier League title.
And there are plenty of tributes from those who played with him, against him and worked with him.
Jamie Vardy, it's certainly been a party!
GET YOUR COPY HERE
Buy now and have it delivered directly to your door. Alternatively you can purchase in participating supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents from June 4 2025. Pre-orders will be dispatched from June 4. Please allow 5 working days for delivery.
This is a newsprint product and may be folded for dispatch. World wide shipping available
In Vardy’s own words, Pearson, Shakespeare, and Walsh told him: “We believe in you, this is why we brought you here, knuckle down and things will pay off.”
It took a year, but then everything clicked. Especially the partnership with Nugent.
More than 10 years on, strike pairings are now out of fashion. But for City, the twin threat up top in Nugent and Vardy was integral to their promotion.
By now, their friendship had blossomed, as had their connection and understanding on the pitch. Nugent scored 20 goals in the promotion season, with six set up by Vardy. Vardy netted 16, with seven assisted by Nugent.
They were electric together, playing with quality and speed. They had a fire in their bellies, sometimes helped by a pre-match shot of sambuca.
“It was a pleasure,” Nugent says. “We bonded on the pitch really well and we had a friendship off the pitch as well. It was a joy to play with him.
“He works his socks off for the team. When you play in a two, you need a partner who’s going to have that work-rate the same as you.
“I think we bounced off each other, we looked for each other on the pitch. We set each other up and scored goals together.
“Night games, when we used to play together, we used to have shots of sambuca and port just to warm our bellies up. It didn’t affect us, it was just a good luck charm before the game. It worked!
“It was a joy to play with him and he went on to achieve bigger and better things than anyone would have imagined.”
The partnership lasted just one more season as City dramatically survived in the Premier League. Vardy was going from strength to strength, developing into the main man he would eventually become.
By the start of the 2015-16 season, Leo Ulloa, Andrej Kramaric and Shinji Okazaki had all been signed to play up front. Nugent left for Middlesbrough.
And so since then, Nugent has followed Vardy’s career not as a strike partner but as a good mate. He was best man at Vardy’s wedding in 2016.
After witnessing Vardy’s 200th and final goal for the club, Nugent said: “He epitomises what Leicester's all about. He works hard for the team and fans want to see that.
“It’s been 13 years of dedication. The fans adore him. You’ve seen players come and gone, but he’s the one that’s stuck around and I think that’s why fans adore him so much.
“He’s one of those guys you enjoy being around. He’s always the main guy in the changing room, cracking the jokes, but when he’s serious he means business.
“You can see on the pitch when he scores goals how much it means to him.”
This article is from our 40-page souvenir edition celebration Vardy's City career. For more details on how to purchase your copy, click here.
What's your favourite Vardy memory? Click HERE to have your say.