The Jamie Vardy party is not ready to wind down yet with the striker defiantly declaring “age is just a number” after signing a new one-year deal at Leicester City.
His long-expected 12-month contract extension was announced on Friday afternoon, setting Vardy up for a 13th campaign at the club. He turns 38 during the season, and there have been doubts over his ability to keep performing at such an age, but he says he’s still full of energy and ready to lead the line again.
Vardy hit 20 goals in all competitions this season to earn himself the new contract, and he will now hope to keep up that form in the Premier League. If he finds the net 10 more times, he will reach a double century for City.
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“It probably could have been more, but you can’t score every time,” Vardy told the club, reflecting on his tally of goals this season and his new deal. “To get the numbers that I did, I’m delighted with it, but there’s still more to come.
“I look after myself. I’ve always said that age is just a number. My legs feel fine so that’s why I carry on until my legs say, ‘that’s it, game over.’ There will be a day when that comes, but that’s not right now.”
Vardy shared the lead striker duties with Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka for much of the season, but when the going got tough and the pressure was on, Enzo Maresca kept faith with the number nine. He responded with a run of 12 goals in 16 games at the end of the campaign.
He added: “Obviously, the target at the start of last season was to get back into the Premier League and to do it the way we did and win the league, everyone was over the moon. It was a great season.
“I think what a lot of people don’t realise is that everyone was saying we had the best squad, but nothing is ever won on paper. We’ve got to go and put performances in, and you saw last season with how we were playing and getting the points, it worked wonders for us.
“What we need to realise is that it’s really hard to win. It always is. Every chance you get to lift a trophy or celebrate with the fans and your family, you have to make the most of it and I think that’s what you could see, especially on the last game of the season.”