Jamie Vardy takes party to Burnley after signing deal with Championship strugglers
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Vardy a free agent after departing Cremonese
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Plans to play on despite burgeoning media career
Jamie Vardy has returned to English football after signing for Burnley in the Championship as a free agent.
Vardy, who will be 40 in January, has signed a contract until the end of the season, having spent last season at Cremonese in Italy. A return to Leicester, where he spent 13 years and was a Premier League champion in 2016 and an FA Cup winner in 2021, was mooted in the summer, only for Vardy to rule out a reunion.
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His podcast, Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party, made the news last week for Mike Dean’s lifting of the lid on his antics as a Premier League referee and has secured broadcast rights for a Bundesliga watch-along. He has also, with his wife Rebekah, starred in an ITV reality series, and been the subject of a Netflix documentary.
Despite those wider interests, Vardy’s intention has been to carry on playing, having been a late starter, making his Football League debut at 25 after signing for Leicester.
Burnley were relegated from the Premier League last term and, with Nicky Hayen as their manager, remain without a win after their opening five games of the Championship campaign, losing to Bristol City on Saturday. Vardy joins a team bottom of the division. “This club has a proper footballing history and passionate fans who deserve a team that represents them and their town,” Vardy said. “I can’t wait to get going on the pitch and help the team move in the right direction.”
In June, he said of Leicester, now in League One, currently struggling under the management of Russell Martin: “I think that’s gone. I’ll always support them, always follow them. I think that’s the best thing I can do now.”
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