Jamie Vardy’s journey is a well-documented one. After being released by Sheffield Wednesday as a young player, he found himself playing in non-league football with Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town, and Fleetwood Town before making a £1 million move to Championship side Leicester City in 2012. What followed is the stuff of legends, but it must have been painful for Cardiff City fans to watch, as the club had shown interest in the striker 12 years ago.
Now 37, Vardy’s career is one of football’s true fairytales, rising from the bottom of the football pyramid to the top. His prolific goal-scoring has led him to win a Premier League title, play in the Champions League, and earn 26 senior caps for England, including a goal against Wales at Euro 2016.
Quickly progressing back up the divisions, Vardy signed for Conference Premier (fifth-tier) club Fleetwood Town the following summer, and took to the higher level exceptionally well, scoring 34 goals in 40 appearances for a Cod Army side that would ultimately lift the title and secure a place in the EFL for the first time.
This, of course, saw plenty of interest in the player from many Football League clubs all the way up to second-tier level, with Cardiff City being one of them.
Bluebirds had £1m Vardy bid accepted by Fleetwood in 2012
Although the determined striker has achieved remarkable success with the Foxes, his career might have taken a different direction if events in the summer of 2012 had unfolded differently.
According to Wales Online, Cardiff, coming off a Championship play-off loss to West Ham, had a £1 million offer for the forward accepted by Fleetwood. However, Leicester City also made an offer.
The striker may have been deterred by the uncertainty surrounding Cardiff’s new ownership at that time, but he reportedly told the BBC that it was the strong interest from Foxes manager Nigel Pearson that convinced him to choose Leicester over Cardiff.
This decision was a significant setback for Cardiff’s manager Malky Mackay and has likely been a major frustration for the club ever since, as the striker made a notable impact in the Premier League. Leicester’s choice turned out to be a brilliant move for the player.
While Cardiff fans may still wonder about what could have been, there’s no question that Vardy’s choice to join Leicester over the Bluebirds has been more than justified.
After earning promotion to the Premier League with Leicester in 2014, Vardy became a legendary figure, leading the attack for a Foxes side that capitalized on his blistering pace to launch deadly counter-attacks. His goal-scoring record remains impressive even now.
Alongside players like Riyad Mahrez, Kasper Schmeichel, and Wes Morgan, Vardy secured his place in football history when they defied all odds to win the Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri in 2016.
As he nears 500 appearances for the club, Vardy and his teammates enjoyed unforgettable Champions League nights the following season and eventually lifted the FA Cup in 2020/21 after a 1-0 win against Chelsea at Wembley.
Despite the setback of relegation at the end of the 2022/23 season, Vardy, now a veteran, helped secure a swift return to the Premier League under the guidance of manager Enzo Maresca.
While Vardy and Leicester have no reason for regret, Cardiff City supporters are likely to always have a lingering sense of what might have been in the Welsh capital.
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