He was released by Sheffield Wednesday when he was 16 years old, and rebuilt his career in the English non-league. He was one of the most prolific forwards outside of the Football League, which led to his move to Leicester City in 2012. He is an out-and-out goalscorer known for his pace, strength and lethal finishing in front of goal.
Despite interest from League One and Two, he remained in non-league as he joined FC Halifax Town for £15,000 in July 2010. Vardy scored 25 goals in 37 appearances, as Halifax earned promotion to the Conference North in his debut season. He won the club's Player's Player of the Year award, before he joined Conference Premier side Fleetwood Town at the start of the 2011/12 season.
Vardy spearheaded Fleetwood's push for promotion that season, as the club attempted to move into the Football League for the first time in their history. Vardy was in brilliant scoring touch for the Cod Army, as he scored 34 times in 40 appearances for them in all competitions, which included an FA Cup run to the third round.
Vardy finished the season as the league's top scorer (31 goals) as Fleetwood won the Conference title to earn promotion into League Two. In May 2012, Vardy joined Leicester City, who were then in the Championship, for an initial fee of £1million, a non-league record.
Thankfully, after reassurances from Foxes' manager Nigel Pearson and his assistant, Craig Shakespeare, he decided to remain with Leicester. Vardy found his goalscoring touch in 2013/14, producing 16 goals and 10 assists in the league as Leicester won the Championship title. Vardy also won the Players' Player of the Year award.
The Englishman scored 24 times and laid on eight assists as the Foxes shocked the world to win the Premier League title by ten points. His performances were recognised at the end-of-year awards season, as he was one of four Leicester players to be named in the PFA Team of the Year. Vardy also collected the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year award and Premier League Player of the Season.
Vardy finished one goal behind Harry Kane who won the Golden Boot. Arsenal activated his release clause in the summer, but he opted to remain at Leicester, signing a new four-year deal.
Vardy continues to be among the leading forwards in the Premier League. In the four seasons since Leicester won the league, Vardy has scored at least 16 goals in all competitions each campaign. His 24-goal tally in 2015/16 is still his highest, but he also scored 23 in 2019/20 as Leicester finished fifth.
This saw him win the Premier League Golden Boot for the first time, and he was also named in the PFA Team of the Year for the second time. At the end of the 2019/20 campaign, he won two player awards at Leicester. He was named their Player of the Season for the first time and their Player's Player of the Season for a second time.
Vardy's end-of-season form in 2014/15 led to his first England call-up in May 2015. He came off the bench to make his debut against the Republic of Ireland in June 2015 and became a regular member of the England squad.
He continued to appear regularly for England, and he was named in Gareth Southgate's squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He made four appearances as England reached the semi-final stage, but he did not score a goal.
In August 2018, Vardy decided to retire from international soccer to focus on his club game and prolong his career. He was capped 26 times for England between 2015 and 2018, scoring seven goals and claiming two assists.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jamie Vardy's net worth as of 2020 is believed to be £10m. Vardy is represented by Wasserman sports agency. They work with a number of high-profile soccer players, including Houssem Aouar, Nathan Ake and Joe Gomez. Vardy currently earns around £120,000 a week with Leicester.
Veteran striker Jamie Vardy is looking forward to a return to playing Premier League football after signing a new one-year contract at Leicester.
Leicester City can extend the gap to third to 13 points with a win over Birmingham City in the Championship on Monday night.
Leicester manager Enzo Maresca says it will be impossible to keep all of his top players happy this season as he aims to take the club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Jamie Vardy has scored 170 goals in 427 appearances for Leicester City.
Leicester's manager, Dean Smith, is optimistic that striker Jamie Vardy's recent resurgence will be instrumental in securing his team's Premier League survival.
Leicester interim coach Dean Smith believed the cluttered fixture schedule has put added pressure on their relegation survival hopes.
While Leicester City manager Dean Smith concedes it has not been Jamie Vardy's most successful season in front of goal, he is adamant the striker is "as important as they come" to the club.
