This summer, Rangers would like to sign a former England international.
In the competition to sign highly sought-after free agent Jamie Vardy this summer, Scottish Premiership powerhouse Rangers are anticipated to join recently promoted Premier League teams Leeds United and Sunderland.
Vardy became the final member of Leicester City’s 2015/16 title-winning squad to leave the King Power Stadium at the end of last season after a 13-year-association with the club.
The 26-time England international joined the East Midlands side for a non-league record of £1.7m in 2012 and went on to establish himself as the club’s highest ever goalscorer of the post-war era with a staggering 200 goals in 500 appearances across all competitions.
He helped the team win the Championship title in 2014 and a Premier League triumph against the odds two seasons later. Vardy also represented Leicester in the Champions League and Europa League while also guiding them to an FA Cup triumph for the first time in the club’s history in 2021.
After departing Leicester, Vardy insisted that his desire was to keep playing and doing what he enjoys most, ‘scoring goals.’ He added that even at 38 he still has the desire and ambition to achieve so much more within the game.
Rangers express interest in Jamie Vardy
Rangers are in the process of a rebuild under manager Russell Martin which is likely to see plenty of high profile arrivals as the club look to try and get back to the summit of Scottish football after four years of Celtic dominance. Jamie Vardy’s availability makes him a strong target for the Glasgow side, according to Fichajes, with the report adding that the Ibrox outfit could face strong competition from both Sunderland and Leeds United.
Sunderland earned promotion to the top-flight for the first time since 2017 after beating Sheffield United in the play-off final at Wembley while Leeds returned to the Premier League at the second time of asking after winning the league title with 100 points under Daniel Farke. Both will see Vardy’s experience and goalscoring instincts as invaluable qualities that could aid their push for survival.
Vardy proved he can still score goals at the highest level last term with nine goals in 35 league appearances for a hapless Leicester side that always looked destined for the drop last term. Overall, he has 292 career goals across spells at Stockbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town, Fleetwood Town and Leicester. While he also boasts a record of seven goals in 26 caps for England before his retirement from international duty in 2018.
Former Leicester City and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey has claimed that Jamie Vardy will want guaranteed regular football and a ‘less intense’ environment than the Premier League at his next club.
“It all depends on what Jamie Vardy wants to do with the rest of his career,” via Daily Record.
“There are plenty of teams in the bottom half of the Premier League who could benefit from his experience and goal threat from the bench. But I can’t see him being a starter in the Premier League.If Vardy went and played for Wrexham in the Championship, it would be a lot of games for him to endure at his age.
“I played in the Championship at 37, it was relentless, the stress of those games at that age felt much worse than it ever did in the Premier League, so it won’t be easy for him if he signs for Wrexham.Rangers would be a similar story to the Premier League, a little bit less intense, fewer games, but also less game time, I’d imagine. If I were Vardy, I’d probably go and play abroad. If he has offers from the MLS or somewhere similar, I would go and enjoy football while getting a lot of game time, scoring goals in a less intense environment than the Championship.”
