Opinion: Jamie Vardy is a bona fide Premier League great

Across the 33-year history of the Premier League, there has been no more remarkable story than Leicester City's title triumph in 2015/16.

The season before, in 2014/15, Leicester sat bottom of the Premier League at Christmas with just 10 points from 17 games and looked destined for relegation to the Championship.

Nigel Pearson's side were then able to stage a 'Great Escape' in the second half of the campaign, winning seven of their final nine Premier League matches of the season to stay up with a game to spare.

This end-of-season revival acted as a springboard for an even more historic achievement the following year, with 5,000/1 shots Leicester miraculously claiming their first ever top-flight title.

At the forefront of both of these epic seasons was a rough diamond from Sheffield by the name of Jamie Vardy; the archetypal late bloomer who was able to elevate himself from non-league hopeful to full England international.

A true Roy of the Rovers tale, Vardy does not only go down as a Leicester City legend but an all-time great of the Premier League.

Premier League history-maker

Vardy first arrived at Leicester from Fleetwood Town for a non-league record deal of £1.7m in May 2012 with the Foxes competing in the Championship.

Turning professional aged 25, the pacey striker took time to find his feet as a full-time player King Power Stadium, with Vardy reportedly even considering turning his back on football having struggled in his debut campaign.

Things would quickly turn around for Vardy, with the Sheffield-born hitman notching 16 Championship goals in the 2013/14 season and earning Leicester's Players' Player of the Season award as the Foxes were promoted to the Premier League as champions.

Leicester and Vardy would initially struggle to adapt to Premier League life, with the Foxes propping up the Premier League table at Christmas.

The 2014/15 campaign would end in style, however, with Vardy a prominent figure as Leicester somehow steered themselves to safety having taken 22 points from a possible 27 in their final nine matches of the season.

What was to follow in the 2015/16 season is the stuff of Premier League legend, with Vardy firing 24 goals in 36 games as Leicester were crowned champions of England.

One of several records he has broken in the Premier League, this league-winning season saw Vardy overtake Ruud van Nistelrooy's record by scoring in 11 matches in a row, ironically achieved against the Dutchman's former club Manchester United.

A wonder goal against Liverpool at the King Power Stadium represents another iconic Premier League moment as Vardy became the face of Leicester's most unthinkable triumph which made headlines all over the globe.

Premier League all-time great

Almost signing for Arsenal following Leicester's sensational Premier League title win in 2016, there were plenty sceptics who doubted Vardy's ability to keep scoring at the elite level.

These doubters were ultimately made to look silly as Vardy established himself as one of the most consistent goalscorers in the Premier League over a prolonged period, hitting double figures in seven different seasons in England's top flight.

A member of an esteemed '100 club' of players to have hit a century of Premier League goals, Vardy is now the 15th highest goalscorer in Premier League history and number 11 on the list of Englishmen.

These achievements are particularly staggering when you consider Vardy did not make his Premier League debut until the age of 27.

This is almost inconceivable when you consider some of the other names at the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts such as Wayne Rooney, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen who all made their name in the game as teenagers.

Vardy may not have the array of medals accrued by Premier League icons of years gone by, but the symbolism of his title-winning exploits for Leicester in the 2015/16 season and the consistency of his goalscoring will ensure he is forever remembered in English football.

James Wilson

• Leicester City F.C.
• Premier League
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