Former Leicester & Liverpool star warns Newcastle off Vardy signing

After seeing Newcastle United miss out on Hugo Ekitike to their Premier League rivals Liverpool, former England striker Emile Heskey warned Eddie Howe off signing Jamie Vardy.

Vardy ended his 13-year spell with Leicester City in the summer, and has been linked with a host of clubs in the Premier League for a potential free transfer move.

Where could Jamie Vardy go next?

Manchester United are said to have been offered the 38-year-old striker and are yet to take up the option as they look at Nicolas Jackson, Ollie Watkins and Benjamin Sesko, while Championship newboys Wrexham are another club in the frame, able to offer Vardy a high-profile switch due to their Hollywood presence.

Vardy who is an attractive free agent signing, scored 10 goals for the Foxes last season, and boasts 200 goals in 500 appearances for the club, and there is a consensus that if he operates off the bench, then he will no doubt be able to contribute in the top flight in the coming season.

Newcastle had been lining up Eintracht Frankfurt forward Ekitike, but his move to Liverpool is now imminent, though they will be relieved to have seen off the Reds’ interest in their own star striker, Alexander Isak.

Howe lost Callum Wilson after his contract came to an end in the summer, with the England striker suffering from injuries towards the end of his time with the club.

That has led Newcastle to look for a new striker either to provide back-up to Isak, or to potentially succeed him should the 27-year-old move on to a bigger club at the end of next season.

What did Emile Heskey think about a move to Newcastle for Vardy?

Speaking to BestBettingSites.co.uk, Heskey believes that Vardy still has the talent to score in the Premier League, and noted that he has plenty of winning experience to his name after Leicester scored their historic league title.

He said: ”He’d be suited to any team, to be honest with you. He’s got that experience. The thing is when you have that much experience within the league, any team can suit you. He has huge experience too. 

“He’s won the Premier League, won the FA Cup, scored more than 100 goals in the Premier League. He’s got vast experience.”

However, the former Leicester striker noted that Vardy can no longer be relied upon for regular starts, which would mean that in the event of long-term injury to Isak, the veteran would probably be unable to shoulder the burden of being a leading man every three days.

If he were to be given bit-part status, then Heskey thinks Vardy can still cut it.

He continued: “But he’s 38 now, so he’s not going to be able to give you everything he used to be able to, at least not week in, week out, day in, day out. He’ll need to be managed, but there’s no doubt he gives you great value.”

Heskey concluded by saying that ultimately he did not think a move to St James’ Park would materialise, given Howe’s approach to signing younger players.

He said: “But I think it goes a little bit against how Newcastle operate. They tend to focus on younger, energetic players.”