On Friday night, reports broke that Arsenal had triggered the release clause in Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy’s contract. The England forward has a release clause of around £20 million, and several news outlets have reported that Arsenal are desperate to tie up a deal as soon as Sunday.
The signing would be a huge signal of intent from the Gunners, who have already added Switzerland International, Granit Xhaka to their ranks this summer. The deal is still a way off yet, but the decision now is solely down to Vardy himself, as it is out of Leicester’s hands.
Vardy is preparing for Euro 2016 with the rest of his England teammates, which starts this coming Friday. England manager Roy Hodgson would ideally like the striker’s future cleared up before the team leave for France this Monday. The timing of this isn’t ideal for Hodgson, who knows that it could affect Vardy if the situation is not cleared up soon.
For £20 million, this deal seems perfect for Arsenal and they would be mad not to go for Vardy. The Leicester man netted 24 goals last season in their title-winning campaign, nine more than the Gunners first choice striker Olivier Giroud. Not only that, Arsenal have been crying out for a striker like Vardy; someone who can run in behind defenders and play perfectly in to the hands of Mesut Ozil.
The Gunners need an instant fix for next season, they need a striker who is proven, who can come in from the go and who knows the Premier League inside out. Arsene Wenger knows that this could be his last chance, and by him going for Vardy this signals his intent for the season ahead. There has been many reports linking Arsenal with many European strikers across the continent, in particular Spanish striker, Alvaro Morata.
Though, it is proving that a deal for the Juventus striker is proving rather unrealistic due to many complications. Plus the player has only scored twelve goals in all competitions this season, and would obviously need time to settle in the Premier League.
Though it may have not been the most obvious choice, it completely makes sense why Wenger is going in for Vardy. A player who has won the league in this country, can run in behind defences, will fit perfectly into the system at the Emirates and most importantly will only cost around 20 million. At the end of the day, it is a no-brainer.
