Jamie Vardy has been immense for Leicester City during his tenure at the club but one claim made by Enzo Maresca about the striker was pretty bold.
Leicester City snapped Jamie Vardy up from the depths of the National League all the way back in 2012.
He’s since gone on to cement himself in the Foxes’ history books, setting Premier League records and, of course, helping them win the league title in 2015/16.
Now 38, Vardy is still going strong in the top flight of English football and has been key to the very limited success Leicester have had this term.
The striker has seven goals and three assists in 22 league appearances and when his form did dip recently – not scoring or assisting in seven – the Midlands outfit lost all of those matches.
When Vardy does retire, potentially at the end of this season when his contract runs out, he will be remembered as a club legend.
But even still, one claim made by now-Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca about the forward was quite outrageous.
Enzo Maresca made a huge Jamie Vardy claim in 2024
Maresca only spent one season at the King Power, helping Leicester win a swift return back to the Premier League in 2023/24.
Vardy was his main number nine during that time, netting 18 goals in the Championship and providing two assists.
The Italian then left for Stamford Bridge in the summer but the Leicester hitman has seemingly left a lasting impression on his ex-boss.
As per BBC Sport, Maresca was discussing Vardy in November 2024, and was quick to praise him while claiming he’s the best striker England have had – picking the Foxes ace ahead of Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane.
He said: “Vardy is fantastic and people don’t realise how good he is.
“I know that England has been quite lucky with strikers, like Kane, Rooney and many others, but if you ask me he has been the best one.
“He can do many things, like run in behind and finish, but the best thing for me is his open mind.
“Last year he changed the way he was playing by dropping in, linking the play and he still wants to learn. But of course he still has the one thing that is most difficult to find, which is to score goals.”
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Jamie Vardy record compared to Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane
While there’s no doubting Vardy’s quality, suggesting he is better than Rooney or Kane is pushing it somewhat.
Rooney is a Manchester United legend and though Kane never won anything in England, he was one of the most dominant strikers in the Premier League for several years.
Even for the national team, the aforementioned duo dominated Vardy on the goal front, though they have played more games in his defence.
| Stats | Jamie Vardy | Wayne Rooney | Harry Kane |
| Premier League goals and appearances | 143 (329) | 208 (491) | 213 (320) |
| England goals and appearances | 7 (26) | 53 (120) | 69 (103) |
Leicester are now set to face Arsenal on Saturday and Vardy will need to be at his best if Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side are to cause an upset.