Chris Waddle believes Sheffield Wednesday should 'definitely' sign Jamie Vardy - but there's a twist
Jamie Vardy is a boyhood Owls fan
Chris Waddle says Sheffield Wednesday should ‘definitely’ sign Jamie Vardy if the former England striker is interested in joining his boyhood club, but also thinks they need to look to the future.
Vardy, 39, is set to become a free agent this summer after leaving Italian side Cremonese, who have just been relegated from Serie A. As we reported earlier this month, Vardy’s name is believed to have been discussed internally at Hillsborough but it is very much early days and it is unknown whether he would be open to it.
Owls legend Waddle would be happy if Wednesday signed Vardy, who was in the club’s academy as a teenager, but explained that it is not as straightforward as that. His age, availability and wage demands would all need to be considered, along with a bigger need for the club to bring in younger players.
“If he was five years younger, I’d snap your arm off,” Waddle told The Star, via NewBettingSites.uk. “But I just think that Wednesday need to build a team which is going to not just get out of League One, they need to build a team which is going to hold its own in the Championship and add two or three players to make them a play-off team at least.
“I think Henrik Pedersen knows that he's got to build a team which is going to get out of this league at the first attempt, let's be honest, and hold its own, like Birmingham did, like Wrexham did when when they went up to the Championship. You've got to make sure you get out of this league this year.”
Wednesday fans are keen for the club to go down the ‘young and hungry’ route when it comes to their recruitment this summer. They would like to see the club instil a long-term strategy where they can develop talent and sell for profit. But if a player of Vardy’s calibre was available to them, should they make an exception?
“If he fits under the wage bill and you know he’s going to play a fair amount of games,” Waddle said. “He's got experience, he's got knowledge, he can help coach younger players. There's a lot of things you could look at, and think there's a lot of positives here, but you know you've got to look at the team and think, will he be available, will he be able to handle League One.
“If Jamie Vardy's still got the physical attributes and his pace and that willingness to take Wednesday out of that league, then I'm all for it, but I think there'll be a lot of options available for Henrik ahead of Jamie Vardy, which he may think he can get three or four years out of this player rather than a season.
“He'll not be cheap, so I can see why it's good headlines, and it's got a few people talking, but I think a club like Sheffield Wednesday needs to get players in who are going to be there for the next two, three, four years. If he's on his game and he's fit, we know he'll score goals for Wednesday, but we don't know the ins and outs of what his demands are, and let's be perfectly honest, they're not going to be cheap.”
With Vardy having been in Wednesday’s academy until he was 16 and being a fan, some people are wondering if a return would be the perfect end to what has been a fairytale career.
Waddle added: “I'm sure Wednesday will be pulling at his heartstrings, I'm sure he would love to put the Wednesday shirt on, probably a dream or an ambition of his, but he will get offers, not just Sheffield Wednesday. I've never heard anybody down at Hillsborough talk about him but if he's fit and he's still got the hunger, I would definitely give him a contract if he's up for it.”