Ranieri: Leicester would only sell Vardy for mega money

It would take “a lot” of money to prise Jamie Vardy away from Leicester City, warned manager Claudio Ranieri.

Vardy has been a revelation since Leicester were promoted to the top flight last season and the England international has continued his good form this term with seven goals to top the Premier League goal-scoring charts.

The 28-year-old’s exploits have undoubtedly alerted rival clubs but Leicester have no plans to part ways with the former Fleetwood Town forward.

When asked how much Vardy would cost ahead of Leicester’s trip to Southampton on Saturday, Ranieri said: “If I am the owner, a lot, a lot, a lot. Do you want Jamie? Give me a lot of money.

“We want to keep him and we want to keep hold of all our best players but if there are some teams who want to spend money ‘OK’, we’ll re-start and we’ll see another good player. At this moment we’ll enjoy with Jamie.

“Our project is very, very good. I understand players want to achieve something early.

“I think for Jamie, not only for Jamie but all of the players, it’s important to do what they feel, what their heart, soul and brain says.

He added: “I can say ‘you stay here’ or ‘you go’ – no. I want only happy players, that is my philosophy. I don’t want to keep somebody who doesn’t want to stay. Jamie is so happy.”