[ad_pod ]
Leicester City’s rise from relegation favourites to Premier League winners is one of the greatest stories in not just football but sport as a whole, and one player who epitomises the tale more than anyone from that iconic squad is Jamie Vardy.
The story of the non-league striker who earned a move to Fleetwood Town and then on to Leicester City where he became a superstar for both club and country in the biggest football league in the world is pretty well known, and at the age of 32, Vardy continues to terrify defences in the Premier League with his pace and goal threat - netting 18 times in the top flight last season.
The Foxes' number nine has cemented himself firmly into Leicester folklore, but who has Vardy combined with the most during his time at the King Power Stadium? Football FanCast takes a look at the five players Vardy boasts the most joint goal participations with, whether he's sticking them away or setting up his team-mates...
Riyad Mahrez – 24 goal contributions
Without Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, there almost certainly wouldn’t have been any Premier League fairytale as the duo’s chemistry in the Leicester squad played a major role in the Foxes' title-winning season.
The duo combined eight times in the 2015/16 campaign, linking up against the likes of Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool as the Foxes steamrolled past nearly everyone in their path, with Vardy’s form that year earning him a place in England’s Euro 2016 squad. As for Mahrez, the now Manchester City winger went on to claim the PFA Player of the Year award to put the icing on the cake.
David Nugent – 20 goal contributions
Although David Nugent wasn’t part of the Premier League-winning side, his time with Leicester City is still important in the grand scheme of things, and the now 34-year-old striker enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Vardy.
The forwards combined 13 times in Leicester’s Championship-winning season in 2013/14 as well as in the Foxes' famous 5-3 win against Manchester United the following year, the game where Vardy truly introduced himself to the Premier League.
Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
Danny Drinkwater – 10 goal contributions
Leicester’s rise to Premier League glory brought many names from that squad into the limelight, one of whom being Danny Drinkwater who just like Nugent and Vardy had been with the club since the Championship days. And for a deep-lying midfielder, the now Chelsea man struck up a good relationship with the Foxes number nine.
The duo’s most important goal, though, came in Leicester’s Champions League round-of-16 tie against Sevilla, with Drinkwater assisting Vardy for the vital away goal that would prove the difference in Leicester progressing to their first ever European quarter-final.
Marc Albrighton – 8 goal contributions
Despite Marc Albrighton being a pivotal figure in Leicester’s title-winning squad, the winger and Vardy didn’t combine as much as you would imagine in that season, with the duo linking just once in the opening game against Sunderland.
However, the duo have popped up with some important goals together, namely in Leicester’s 2-1 win over Manchester City last season that almost careened Pep Guardiola's Premier League title chances.
Shinji Okazaki – 7 goal contributions
One of Vardy’s regular partners for the title-winning season alongside Leonardo Ulloa, Shinji Okazaki helped the Englishman produce some of his best football with busy and creative displays just behind him. In short, Okazaki did the dirty work while Vardy spared his legs for those lunging runs beyond opposition backlines.
The duo combined in important wins against Everton, Liverpool and Newcastle United in the 2015/16 season and their 7 overall goal contributions is pretty impressive considering Okazaki has only ever actually scored 19 times for the Midlands outfit.