Rio Ferdinand wants Jamie Vardy to make a surprise “Hollywood” move to Wrexham this summer.
Vardy, 37, fired Leicester City to Championship glory and Premier League promotion this season. His impressive 18-goal tally pushed the Foxes to win the title by a single point despite a 2-0 final day defeat against Blackburn.
The former England striker has already etched his name into Leicester folklore, spearheading their fairytale Premier League title triumph in 2015/16 and their FA Cup victory in 2021. Yet he could trade playing top-flight football next season for Wrexham’s project two divisions below – just as goalkeeper Ben Foster did in 2023.
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Wrexham AFC is the arguably the fastest-growing club in the world at the moment thanks to a certain Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
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Vardy recently insisted he will not be retiring any time soon. And though he will attract attention from various Premier League clubs, Manchester United legend Ferdinand fancies him to make a surprise move to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney-owned Wrexham, who recently celebrated their own promotion to League One.
Ferdinand said on Vibe with FIVE, via the Mirror: “He’s got to play another season in the Premier League. I want to see him get a couple of goals in the Premier League, it’s nice. The only club I’d like him to go to if he leaves is Wrexham.”
YouTuber Stephen Howson questioned why, to which Ferdinand replied: “It’s got that Hollywood feel and he’s had a bit of a Hollywood career. Started from the bottom now we’re here, and he wants to reverse that.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Rumours surfaced last week about Wrexham being open to a move for the striker. “There’s nothing to say that Jamie Vardy wouldn’t be a great Wrexham player,” Wrexham director Humphrey Ker told SPORTbible. “It’s not a name I’ve had mentioned inside the building before but, you know, age and profile wouldn’t put us off.”
The Red Dragons’ celebrity owners Reynolds and McElhenney have managed to sign players well above their station in the past. Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee both joined their project while the club were still playing in Non-League.
(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Getty Images)
Since then, Wrexham have enjoyed successive promotions from the National League up to the third tier. And the challenge of taking them all the way to the top may well appeal to Vardy in the latter stage of his career.
Shot-stopper Foster made the decision to come out of retirement in March 2023 to sign for Wrexham, where he briefly went out on loan in 2005. Foster retired at Watford having played Premier League football just months earlier, showing the allure of Wrexham’s project in convincing him to return between the sticks.
As it turned out, the 41-year-old would play a huge role too, crucially saving a penalty in stoppage time against National League title rivals Notts County to give his team a three-point cushion at the top.
(Image: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
Vardy has somewhat of a love story with the lower leagues himself, making his way up from step eight with Stocksbridge Park Steels to Halifax Town in the Conference North. He then played for Fleetwood Town in the Conference Premier before arriving at Leicester in the Championship, where he helped gain promotion in 2014.
The striker may well look to retire at Leicester, where he has scored 190 goals in 12 years. But should he seek to make history elsewhere, Vardy could play a pivotal part in a ‘Hollywood’ story to match his own.