#4 Jamie Vardy
While Leicester City’s title win is largely credited to Claudio Ranieri, it would have never happened, if it wasn’t for the fact that he had players like Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and of course the incredible Jamie Vardy. While the entire Leicester team, including Vardy have been lacklustre this season, last season’s Jamie Vardy was simply beyond brilliant, with even Thierry Henry praising him.
The Arsenal legend praised the striker’s immense work rate, stamina and ability to chase after lost causes. Last season, whenever Leicester City didn’t have the ball, Vardy was at work pressing high up the pitch, trying to intercept passes between goalkeeper and defenders.
(Video Courtesy: LCFC YouTube Channel)
He does this for 90 minutes every weekend, every single game he has played. This season, despite the lacklustre performances, Vardy has still covered an average of 10.1 km per 90 minutes while making an average of 58 sprints per game, compared to last season’s 54 sprints per game.
Just imagine how horrible the defenders must have felt with a player like Vardy sprinting throughout the match giving them no room to play and calmly work the ball out of their half. Vardy’s game is similar to greyhounds at a track – pestering relentlessly and waiting for a single mistake before he pounces.
