Arsenal make Vardy move

LONDON: Arsenal are trying to lure England striker Jamie Vardy away from Premier League champions Leicester City in a move worth around £20 million ($29m, 25.5m euros), Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

Vardy scored 24 league goals last season. His club form saw him force his way into England’s squad for the upcoming European Championship.

Signing Vardy, who is already 29, would mark a major change in Arsenal’s transfer policy under long-serving French manager Arsene Wenger.

But the Guardian said “the striker’s availability for a relatively modest fee, and the alternative option that he provides in attack with his searing pace, has fuelled the manager’s interest”.

It seems the forward now has a momentous decision to make.

Last month, Vardy indicated he had no desire to leave Leicester, saying: “We’ve just won the league and will be playing in the Champions League next year. I am happy here.”

But May also saw Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri say he would not stand in the way of any player who wanted to move on, although clearly the Italian would like to keep his title-winning squad intact.