Enzo Maresca’s Leicester City put in a five-star performance against Stoke City on Saturday, with Jamie Vardy dropping a hint about his future at the club.
Leicester City extended their lead at the top of the Championship to 11 points over Southampton, claiming their 23rd win over the season with a thumping 5-0 victory over Stoke City.
The visitors left Steven Schumacher with a difficult half-time team talk as the Foxes surged into a two-goal lead through Patson Daka and Kasey McAteer.
Three more goals were then added in the second half as Daka notched his brace before Jamie Vardy, who replaced the Zambian in the 70th minute, scored twice from the bench to give Enzo Maresca’s side their biggest win of the campaign.
For Vardy, it was his third goal in two matches which took his tally to 10 for the season after scoring in the 3-0 victory over Birmingham City in the FA Cup.
Those strikes off the bench against Stoke had Leicester fans chanting “for 10 more years” after guiding the Foxes through unparalleled success across the past decade.
At the age of 37 and with his contract expiring in the summer, many fear that this could be his final hurrah at the club, however, the Englishman has now dropped a hint over his future.
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy says that age will not define him
Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester after they thrashed Stoke, Vardy revealed how he looks after himself to ensure he’s in the best shape possible.
He said: “Age is just a number,
“You are as old as you feel, how your legs feel, and I make sure I look after myself and make sure I recover right and do extra when I’m at home.
“So as long as I keep doing that, I’ll keep feeling fresh.”
Should Leicester give Vardy a new contract?
Despite his age and injury troubles this term, Vardy is still the club’s joint top scorer alongside Stephy Mavididi and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall with 10 strikes.
Those performances alone warrant renewed terms at the King Power, but his age will play a part in that decision.
With Leicester cantering towards the Premier League, it’s unlikely Vardy will be given a long-term contract.
It isn’t financially feasible for the club to tie down a 37-year-old for a lengthy period and while his performances show no signs of slowing down, he has now been used sparingly at times this term.
Once Maresca’s troops return to the top flight, his game time will be restricted even further so the best call of action will be to give him a short-term deal.
But then Vardy may want to have a long-term commitment to the club, so that is where the issue may lie.
Nonetheless, Leicester are faced with a big decision to make over the future of a Foxes legend in the coming months.