Timing could be out for Leicester goal machine’s Euro 2016 dream
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It seems ludicrous to think that Jamie Vardy’s incredible goal scoring exploits will do the Leicester striker’s chances of making England’s Euro 2016 squad harm. Such a notion is bordering on insanity.
However, the timing of this miraculous purple patch – which has seen the Foxes hitman become the first Englishman to score in nine consecutive Premier League matches – could yet be premature where Euro 2016 is concerned.
Being vogue in November isn’t a guarantee of holding such esteem in the nation’s, or far more importantly, Roy Hodgson’s eyes, when April then May arrive to ensure minds shift to the summer’s big tournament.
It’s during these late spring months when it really pays to be hitting a goal-scoring hot streak, even one which isn’t quite up to the standards of Vardy’s epic ongoing achievements.
It’s also impossible to say how long the 28-year-old can sustain this spree. There will be those quick to point out Vardy’s brilliant season at Fleetwood Town which saw Leicester move for their man in the summer of 2012.
Having signed from Halifax, Vardy netted 34 times in just 40 appearances for the Cod Army – never going longer than three games without a goal.
Without being disrespectful to the Blue Square Premier though, the gulf in class to the Premier League is huge and even Vardy’s best returns in three prior seasons with Leicester never hinted he could sustain such top-flight returns as he is now.
Immediately after joining the Championship club the Sheffield native grabbed five in 29 appearances, and although he notched 16 in 41 during the Foxes’ promotion campaign, he had still gone eight games without a goal that season.
Meanwhile, Vardy had only scored once before mid-March en route to five Premier League goals all told last season.
In case the well begins to run dry on the domestic front, it seems absolutely imperative that the most in-form striker in the country takes his next opportunities for the Three Lions across two high-profile friendlies.
At present few could argue with his selection as one of Hodgson’s final 23, but don’t be surprised if the likes of a Daniel Sturridge or a fit again Danny Welbeck, who has proved himself on the international stage, see Vardy squeezed out of the eventual travelling party to France.
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