It’s been a rollercoaster decade for Leicester City, who have experienced many peaks and troughs along their journey.
Almost 10 years ago, Leicester pulled off the great escape in 2014/15, winning four of their games in April to miraculously push them to Premier League safety.
What followed after was unthinkable as Leicester won the Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri, pulling off the greatest sporting achievement of the modern era.
A place in the Champions League beckoned for the Foxes, who managed to reach the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Atletico Madrid.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone admitted he feared Leicester across the two legged tie, despite winning 2-1 on aggregate, and the passionate Argentine also praised one player.
Diego Simeone was blown away by Jamie Vardy in 2017
The 2016/17 Leicester squad was packed with stars, including the magician Riyad Mahrez and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
But it was striker Jamie Vardy who earned the most recognition for his performances, having fired his side to the title in the season previous.
Simeone was one individual who waxed lyrical about Vardy’s attributes in 2017, lauding his ability to press the opposition ferociously and pose danger to the opposition in attack.
“I like him, I really rate him as a striker,” Simeone said via ESPN. “He is the kind of powerful striker Atletico have had. He also gives the team a lot of depth, and makes life really difficult for defenders to get the ball out.
“He is very dangerous and if we make any mistakes, he will penalise that. Last season, he was very consistent, very good.”
Vardy proved why the Atletico Madrid boss feared him as he scored in the 1-1 draw in the second leg, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to send Leicester through.
Vardy’s stats since 2016/17
Remarkably, only two players have survived from the squad that clashed against Atletico almost eight years ago – Wilfred Ndidi and the veteran Vardy.
But while the 38-year-old is approaching the end of his career, one thing has been a constant, and that is his lethalness in front of goal.
| Jamie Vardy’s Leicester City stats | Games played | Goals | Assists |
| 2017/18 | 42 | 23 | 1 |
| 2018/19 | 36 | 18 | 4 |
| 2019/20 | 40 | 23 | 7 |
| 2020/21 | 42 | 17 | 9 |
| 2021/22 | 33 | 17 | 2 |
| 2022/23 | 42 | 6 | 5 |
| 2023/24 | 37 | 20 | 2 |
| 2024/25 [so far] | 27 | 8 | 3 |
- READ MORE: ‘I just’… Jamie Vardy officially settled the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo debate in 2020
The only time he hasn’t reached double figures for goals since the 2016/17 campaign was in 2022/23 when Leicester were relegated from the Premier League.
And despite his sides struggles this term, he’s still on course to reach the 10+ mark, only needing to find the net twice in the final two months.