Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has discussed his decision to snub Arsenal earlier this summer, saying it was an ‘easy decision’.
The 29-year-old was on England duty at Euro 2016 at the time of the speculation, as he was presented with the opportunity to move to the Emirates after the Gunners had met the £20m release clause in his contract, as noted by Sky Sports.
After taking a few days to mull over the decision, Vardy ultimately opted to stay at the King Power Stadium and has now revealed the reasons behind doing so.
“I’ve always said the brotherhood at Leicester is unbelievable,” he told Sky Sports. “Personally I feel I have a lot of unfinished business here. It wasn’t that big a decision, it was quite easy, this is where I wanted to be.
“I was away with England. No [I never spoke with them].”
Vardy went on to discuss the future of team-mate Riyad Mahrez, who has also been linked with a move to Arsenal this summer, as noted by Sky Sports, as Claudio Ranieri hopes to hang on to his influential winger.
The Foxes have already lost N’Golo Kante to Chelsea, and Vardy isn’t keen on putting pressure on Mahrez to stay with him as ultimately it’s the Algerian international’s decision to make.
“I think everyone in the squad would want him [Mahrez] here playing with us,” he added. “But it’s nothing to do with us, it’s up to Riyad and the club to deal with.”
The former Fleetwood Town striker scored scored 24 Premier League goals last season to fire Leicester to the top of the table, and he will be hoping for a repeat performance this time round.
However, Ranieri and his men will also have the Champions League to contend with, and in turn it’s no surprise to see that they’ve been active in the transfer market this summer to add quality and depth to the squad as well as to show their ambition.
Ahmed Musa, Nampalys Mendy, Ron-Robert Zieler and Luis Hernandez have all arrived at the club, and along with the rest of the group and Vardy himself, they will be hopeful of proving that it was the right decision for many of the stars in the squad to stay at Leicester for another season at least.