London - Jamie Vardy has angered the England hierarchy with the timing of the announcement of his new, four-year contract at Leicester City.
Roy Hodgson insisted Vardy’s focus would be on Euro 2016 even though Arsenal triggered the striker’s release clause with a £20million bid on the eve of the tournament, and it was made clear the coaches would not be impressed if Vardy became distracted.
But after Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed this week he thought Vardy would stay at Leicester, the two clubs wanted to move on quickly.
FA staff feel there was no need to make the announcement with the tournament still going on, but the clubs argue the timing is acceptable, given England now know they will play Iceland in the last 16 in Nice on Monday.
Leicester reacted to Arsenal’s offer of £120 000 per week by making a counter bid worth around £100 000 a week and Vardy will sign once Euro 2016 is over.
The Premier League champions contacted the FA on Wednesday night before issuing a statement that was phrased to suggest the striker had little involvement in making perhaps the most important decision of his career.
The FA suggested the timing was less than ideal given England were just four days away from their last-16 encounter with Iceland, but the announcement nevertheless went ahead.
The club statement said: ‘Leicester have agreed with the representatives of Jamie Vardy to extend (his) contract with the Premier League champions for a further four years.Both parties hope this announcement will end recent speculation regarding Jamie’s future and confirm his long-term commitment to Leicester.
‘Jamie will continue to focus all his efforts on trying to achieve success with the England team at the European Championship in France.’
Vardy has already been indulged by Hodgson, with the England manager allowing him to take time off during the build-up to get married.
It will be the 29-year-old’s second new contract in five months, having agreed a £80 000-a-week deal until 2019 in February.
Vardy’s decision to stay will be a huge boost to Leicester’s chances of keeping the other players who were instrumental in delivering their unlikely title success. Riyad Mahrez saw Vardy’s future as a factor in his own decision and N’Golo Kante is also likely to be swayed by the striker’s commitment to the club.
Daily Mail