Jamie Vardy returned to the Premier League on Monday with yet another goal and some antics that only he could get away with. We look at how the 37-year-old still carries so much threat.
Jamie Vardy really is like no other Premier League player.
Without playing a minute of Leicester City’s underwhelming pre-season campaign in which they lost three of their four games and scored only two goals, Vardy made himself available to start in their return to the top flight against Tottenham on Monday night with manager Steve Cooper in desperate need of a centre-forward.
A 37-year-old Vardy has been able to play less and less football over the last few years due to injuries and age, but he was ready, willing and able to play in Leicester’s hour of need. They were far better off for it, and Vardy showed just how unique a player he is.
That said, his presence on the teamsheet won’t have filled the Spurs defenders with fear.
And in the first half, he was entirely peripheral. Spurs were completely dominant, seeing 72.4% of the ball and racking up 10 shots to Leicester’s one. Vardy completed only four passes, and didn’t touch the ball anywhere near – let alone in – the Tottenham penalty area.
There was one passage of play where it looked like he might be able to spin in behind the Spurs defence and race through on goal. The old (or younger) Vardy would have made it, but on this occasion he didn’t get close to beating Pedro Porro to the ball.
In the end, Spurs went in 1-0 up at the break and it could easily have been more. Vardy decided to shake some life into his teammates in the dressing room.
“We just had a little chat at half-time,” Vardy told Sky Sports after the game. “Obviously Tottenham are a really good team, but I think we probably gave them a bit too much respect, so we started the second half a bit more on the front foot and got after them. I think that’s what changed the momentum.”
Vardy was pictured coming out for the second half drinking a can of Red Bull – something Vardy became known for doing years ago and very few other players would do these days. But he is one of a kind.
Soon after the break, the game completely changed, and Vardy provided the moment that turned it. On 57 minutes, Vardy ghosted in behind Cristian Romero inside the Tottenham six-yard box to head in Abdul Fatawu’s cross and level the scores. After that, Spurs simply couldn’t regain control of the match.
It was his 137th Premier League goal – putting him 15th in the all-time scoring charts despite him only making his debut in the competition at the age of 27. More impressively, it was his 103rd goal since turning 30 years old, which is 10 more than anyone else. Nobody who is still active is anywhere near him, so it’s likely he’ll hold that record for a while yet.
He also became Leicester’s oldest ever scorer in the Premier League, and the 16th oldest in Premier League history. He could yet move up that list, though.
He has Robin van Persie, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand and Michael Owen in his sights in the all-time top scorers list. And as he showed on Monday night, at 37 he might be lacking the pace he once had, but he will never lose his brilliant movement and ability to get into shooting positions close to goal.
It continued the fine work Vardy did last season. He averaged the highest non-penalty expected goals per 90 of all players to play at least 1,000 minutes in the Championship (0.67), showing just how consistently he carved out good chances despite his age and missing big chunks of the season through injury. He also showed he doesn’t need time to play himself back into form and fitness.
Spurs found out as much on Monday night, too, as Vardy proved he’s still more than capable in the top flight. He might well have won the game, too, but his low effort was well saved by Guglielmo Vicario.
Vardy’s two shots were worth 0.8 xG, meaning that of players with at least two shots in the Premier League in 2024-25, only Brentford’s Yoann Wissa (0.5 xG) is averaging a higher xG per shot than Vardy. It doesn’t appear he will be losing the knack to get into those dangerous positions any time soon.
And he also showed when he was substituted that he isn’t losing his edge, either. As he walked off the pitch to a standing ovation, the Leicester City legend reminded the visiting supporters that he has one more Premier League trophy than their club, before telling Romero where to go in, shall we say, not the politest way possible.
Vardy is a hero at the King Power, and Leicester will never be able to replace him when retirement finally comes around.
As he showed on Monday night, the Premier League is far better off with him doing what he does best, winding everyone he can up and producing key goals in big moments.
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