From non-league nobody to a Premier League champion: How Jamie Vardy has become a legend of English football

As we approach the end of the season, we see one of the legends of the English game leave the club that made him and allowed him to become the player that we all know today.

As announced in April, Jamie Vardy will be leaving Leicester City after 13 amazing seasons spent at the club.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Alec Hayward takes a look at his incredible career from start to end, and from highs to lows. 

Non-league days 

At just 16 years old, Jamie Vardy’s football journey took a tough turn.

After being released from Sheffield Wednesday’s academy, he found himself at Stocksbridge Park Steels in 2006 - far from the glamour of top-tier football.

He spent two seasons at Stocksbridge, and by the age of 18, his talent was starting to get noticed.

Crewe Alexandra invited him for a trial, which lasted a week, but ultimately led nowhere.

Rotherham United also came calling with a short-term contract offer, but Vardy turned it down.

Over three seasons with Stocksbridge, he helped the club secure promotion to the Northern Premier League in the 2008/09 campaign. That would be his final season there.

He was then signed by FC Halifax Town for £15,000.

Halifax proved to be a breakout chapter in his journey.

Vardy scored the winner on his debut, and the goals kept coming. He finished the season as the club’s top scorer - 25 goals in 37 appearances.

His performances earned him the Players’ Player of the Season award and helped Halifax clinch the Northern Premier League Division title.

After spending a year at Halifax Vardy saw himself moving clubs again, this time to the very pinnacle of the non-league pyramid.

He exploded that season: 31 goals in 36 games, and the club’s Player of the Year award was his.

But it wasn’t just the league form that got him noticed. It was the FA Cup.

Vardy scored three in six games, including one against Blackpool, despite a 5-1 defeat.

Blackpool were impressed enough to make a £750,000 bid for the 24-year-old. However, Fleetwood said no - they wanted £1 million.

That deal would eventually happen, setting a non-league transfer record at the time.

Championship side Leicester City met the price, and in May 2012, 25-year-old Jamie Vardy officially made the jump from non-league to the big stage.

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The new fox in the box for the Foxes

2012/13

Vardy is proof that it is never too late for someone to make it professional in the game of football.

At 25, he made his debut in the second tier of English football, featuring in 26 Championship games for Leicester City that season.

But things didn’t quite go to plan. He scored just four goals in that first year, as Leicester finished sixth and made the playoffs.

2013/14

His second season told a very different story. Vardy played 37 games in the Championship and scored 16 goals, showing he was adapting well to the step up in quality.

But the best was still to come.

He played a key role in helping Leicester win the Championship - as centurions - and secure promotion to the Premier League.

2014/15

Now it was his time. At 27 years old, Vardy finally made his Premier League debut at the very top of the English footballing pyramid.

He featured in 34 league games that season, scoring five goals and providing eight assists.

More importantly, he helped Leicester not only survive their first year back in the top flight - but finish a respectable 14th

2015/16

What happened next, no one could have seen coming. Leicester entered the season just hoping to stay up again - but those expectations were completely blown away.

Vardy and Leicester went on to win the Premier League, with Vardy playing a massive role. He scored 24 goals and provided six assists in 36 games for the Foxes.

He also broke a Premier League record by scoring in 11 consecutive matches - a run that helped him claim the Golden Boot.

And the recognition didn’t stop there. From non-league to Ballon d’Or nominee, Vardy’s rise was complete as he finished eighth in the voting.

2016/17

This season marked another milestone. Vardy stepped onto the biggest stage in club football - the UEFA Champions League.

Leicester were drawn into Group G alongside Porto, Kobenhavn, and Club Brugge.

Vardy played in all the group stage matches, helping Leicester top the group and advance to the Round of 16.

There, he scored a crucial goal against Sevilla, helping his side win 3-2 on aggregate.

Their run ended in the quarter-finals against Atlético Madrid, though Vardy found the net once again.

The extra European fixtures seemed to take a toll on the squad, and Leicester finished 12th in the league. Still, Vardy had another solid campaign - 16 goals and 5 assists.

2017/18 

After a disappointing campaign the year before, Leicester and Vardy were determined to bounce back - and they did.

The club finished 9th in the league, and Vardy was back to his best, scoring 20 goals in the Premier League. 

2018/19 

Once again, Leicester ended the season in ninth place. And once again, Vardy’s consistency was key.

He scored 18 goals and added four assists, continuing his run as the team’s go-to man.

2019/20 

For the first time since their title-winning season, Leicester seriously challenged the top six.

They pushed their way back into European contention, finishing fifth in the league.

Vardy had another standout year - 23 goals in 35 games, along with five assists.

2020/21

Vardy had yet another productive season, racking up 24 goal contributions in the Premier League - scoring and assisting across 34 games.

He also added two goals in four Europa League appearances.

Leicester finished in the top six once again, ending the season in fifth place for the second year running.

That meant another shot at the second tier of European football, though Vardy would’ve hoped for a better run this time.

Despite topping their group, Leicester were knocked out in the Round of 32 after a 2–0 defeat.

Still, the season had its high point. Leicester won the FA Cup, beating Chelsea 1-0,marking Vardy’s third trophy with the club.

2021/22

Unfortunately, this season didn’t go as hoped. Leicester missed out on a top-six finish, ending the league campaign in eighth place.

The number nine still managed to score 15 goals in the Premier League, but it wasn’t enough to lift the team higher.

European competition proved just as tough. After finishing third in their Europa League group, the Foxes dropped into the Conference League - where they made it all the way to the semi-finals, only to be knocked out by eventual champions Roma.

Still, there was some silver lining. The club claimed their fourth trophy of the era, winning the Community Shield 1-0 against Manchester City.

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2022/23

This season was far from what anyone - especially Vardy - would’ve hoped for. He recorded his lowest-ever goal tally in a Leicester shirt, scoring just three times in the Premier League across 37 appearances.

Worse still, it marked his first experience with relegation at the club. The Foxes finished 18th, just two points shy of safety.

It was a harsh return to the Championship for the then 36-year-old - his first time back in the second tier in a decade.

2023/24

The return to the Championship was short-lived. Leicester bounced back immediately, clinching promotion with style - and lifting the Championship trophy once again.

The veteran striker played a huge role in that success, scoring 18 goals in 35 games.

At 37 years old, he continued to prove just how vital his finishing touch remains to the Foxes’ fortunes.

2024/25

We now arrive at Vardy’s final season with Leicester - and, as he admitted himself, he wished it could’ve ended on a better note.

As things stand, he has seven goals and three assists in 33 games.

At 38, those seven goals still made him the club’s top scorer as the Foxes languish in 19th, highlighting just how much Leicester have continued to depend on their No. 9, even in his final year.

There’s still a chance he could hit one last milestone: a 500th appearance in Blue.

Nearly 200 goals later, Vardy also finds himself ranked 15th on the Premier League’s all-time scorers list, capping off 13 remarkable seasons.

He leaves behind a legacy that includes 1 Premier League title, 2 Championship trophies, an FA Cup, and a Community Shield.

England

Vardy would end his England career with 26 caps scoring 7 goals.

Jamie Vardy earned his first England cap in a 2015 friendly against the Republic of Ireland, kicking off a three-year international run that included appearances at the Euros and the World Cup.

In 2016, he truly made his mark - playing 11 times and scoring his first international goal in a match against Germany. He added four more that year, including one at Euro 2016.

He featured in three friendlies in 2017 before receiving his final call-ups in 2018, a year that saw him play 11 games, including at the World Cup in Russia - though he didn’t find the net during the tournament.

Vardy’s England journey ended with 26 caps and 7 goals.

What next for Vardy?

So where does it leave him, it would seem that joining one of the three promoted teams would be the most likely destination for him, what do you think?

With his Leicester chapter officially closed, Jamie Vardy has made it clear—he’s not ready to hang up his boots just yet.

After 13 years with the Foxes, the 38-year-old striker still believes he has what it takes to compete at the top level of English football.

Many thought Wrexham would be his next stop, but Vardy appears to have turned them down, keeping his ambitions higher.

So, where does that leave him? A move to one of the newly promoted Premier League sides might be the most realistic option. What do you think?

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