‘The perfect fit’ – Jamie Vardy ‘enchants’ in Serie A as he equals Chelsea icon’s 21-year record

Jamie Vardy has shown that it is never too late to join the party after becoming the latest veteran striker to light up Serie A.

The 38-year-old has scored four goals in eight starts for newly-promoted Cremonese, to equal one icon’s record in Italian football.

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Vardy rejected a late offer from Robin van Persie to join Feyenoord in favour of an Italian adventure at the start of September.

The striker, who ended his 13-year stint at Leicester last season, signed a one-year deal with the option of a further year at Cremonese.

La Cremo have more than got their value out of Vardy already, and sit just outside the European spots following back-to-back wins.

Jamie Vardy stats in Serie A

The former England international scored twice in a 3-1 win over Bologna, before he ‘enchanted’ with his performance against Leece.

Vardy, who turns 39 next month, has played 90 minutes in all of Cremonese’s last eight games and has scored four goals in ten games.

The Englishman has become just the second player in Serie A history to bag more than three for a promoted team at the age of 38 or over.

He follows in the footsteps of Chelsea icon Gianfranco Zola, who left Stamford Bridge for second-division Cagliari, helped seal promotion, and then scored nine times in 2004/05 before retiring.

Vardy, who managed the same tally of Premier League goals last season, needs to hit double figures in Serie A to make the record his own.

European football expert Andy Brassell, who praised Cremonese for how they’ve handled their new talisman, believes Vardy can keep going into his 40s.

“I think they’ve managed him very, very well,” Brassell exclusively told talkSPORT.com. “They knew he’d not really had much of a pre-season.

“Despite the fact they’re very excited about signing him and despite the fact they’re one of the favourites for relegation, they didn’t rush him in.

“Cremonese have been such a great surprise. They’ve been really, really good. Part of that has been because they’re underdogs.

“But also, Serie A is more open than it used to be. You can go back over most of the last two decades and say it’s a far more attacking league than it used to be, even though obviously tactics continue to be important and practical discussion continues to be important.

“We’re talking about the difference between Jamie Vardy playing at the start of the turn of the century here, if we’re going back to 2003, 2004, and Serie A now, which is a little bit different.

“The other thing is that Cremonese’s underdogs are going to be playing on the counter a lot.”

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Vardy is still quick – Cremonese is ‘perfect fit’

The former Leicester captain is one of the fastest players in Premier League history, once clocking a top speed of 35.44km/h in 2015.

While he has undoubtedly slowed down a decade later, Brassell added: “He’s still quick, and he can still get in behind.

“His all-round displays have been great, as he’s got fitter and fitter. His tactical intelligence is massively underrated, by the way.

“He’s not just an off-the-shoulder striker. The runs he makes are super smart. They help his teammates. And even when he’s not scoring, he’s making a really big contribution.

“What’s amusing is the fact that he only really saves his goals for the big teams. You think of him scoring against Juventus, for example.”

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He can keep going until he’s 41

“There’s still plenty in there, I feel,” Brassell continued. “To have that sort of pressure off, I suppose in a way it must make him feel like going back and achieving stuff with Leicester.

“Leicester, who were never fancied to stay up. Then they were never fancied to be in the European mix.

“Then they were never fancied to win the league, win the FA Cup. And I guess, obviously, Cremonese is very different.

“Culturally, he’s at a different point in his career. But I do think there’s a little bit of him that feels, yeah, this is the perfect fit for me.

“With Serie A as well, it’s got an incredible history of strikers in their mid to late 30s scoring a lot of goals.

“I mean, straight away, if you’re Vardy, and you know anything about Italian football history, you’re thinking I’m modern-day Antonio Di Natale or Fabio Quagliarella or any of those guys.

“Why can’t I keep going until I’m 40, 41?”