Jamie Vardy is delighted to commit his future to Leicester City after signing a four-year contract at the club, and he says the Foxes have nothing to fear as defending Premier League champions.
The striker was pivotal in an extraordinary 2015/16 campaign for Leicester, scoring 24 goals as Claudio Ranieri’s men won their first top-flight title.
He won the Premier League and Football Writers’ Association Player of the Season awards, and played in England's UEFA Euro 2016 campaign last month.
Winning the title also means a UEFA Champions League debut beckons for the Foxes, and Vardy, who only joined the club after a career of non-league football four years ago, is relishing the challenge.
"It's a big season as defending champions so we've got to make sure we're ready for it,” Vardy told lcfc.com. “Nobody expected anything from us last year, but it will be very different this time so we've got to be ready to hit the ground running.
"It's nice to be coming into pre-season without the distraction of any speculation. My future's decided - I'm a Leicester player and I'm absolutely delighted with that.
"This club's been fantastic for me and now I've got to knuckle down again to keep helping to move it forward. I’m grateful to the manager, the owners, my teammates and the fans for the support they’ve always given me.
"What we achieved last season was beyond what anyone could have imagined, but we've got to go again.
"There’s nothing to fear. We're defending the title and we've got the Champions League to look forward to. We want to make sure we do ourselves justice.”
Vardy is set to be in contention for the champions’ season opener against Hull City at 12.30pm BST on Saturday 13 August following surgery on his right wrist, which was in a cast for the majority of the 2015/16 campaign.
