Claudio Ranieri has challenged Jamie Vardy to prove to Sam Allardyce that he deserves to be starting for England. The Leicester City striker remained on the substitutes’ bench throughout England’s 1-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday, with Allardyce preferring Harry Kane up front and later bringing on Daniel Sturridge, prompting Ranieri to suggest that Vardy will be “more hungry” to show he merits a place in the national team upon his return to club football.
Although Ranieri admitted that it was good news for him that Vardy never kicked a ball for England, the Italian accepts that his No9 will not feel the same way. Vardy scored against Swansea in Leicester’s last Premier League game before the international break and the manager hopes that the 29-year-old can take out his frustration on Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
“He’s refreshed, he trained very well,” Ranieri said when asked about Vardy. “For me it is good [that he didn’t play for England]. For him, no. Maybe he is more hungry – show me. You have to fight and say: ‘Hey, Sam, I am ready to play.’
“But it wasn’t only Jamie [that didn’t play]. Also [Daniel] Amartey, [Danny] Drinkwater, Ben Chilwell, Shinji Okazaki – a lot of my players went around the world without playing. That’s good. They recover a little more.”
Although Vardy, is certain to start up front against Liverpool, Islam Slimani, the club-record signing, is expected to be on the bench. Slimani has been away on international duty with Algeria and had still not arrived back at the club by the time Ranieri was giving his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. Slimani is due to train with his new team-mates for the first time on Friday morning. “He could play, but I want to speak with him and to see him and then we will see,” said Ranieri, who also confirmed that Kasper Schmeichel was fit to start after a minor hernia operation.
Slimani cost Leicester £30m and although Ranieri stressed how important it was that the striker is given time to adapt to the English game, he is excited about the different attacking options that the 28-year-old will provide. “He holds the ball very well and he is good in the air,” Ranieri said. “We have the chance to go straight away on the counterattack. But also we have the chance to put the high ball in and he makes the second ball, and also he is very competitive and presses very well.
“So I am sure he can help us. He is not just the target man who can stay there; he can go around and he also plays for his team-mates. We watched him a lot and we are convinced he can bring us something good.”
Leicester, meanwhile, are set to appoint Eduardo Macía as their new head of recruitment. The Spaniard worked with Ranieri at Valencia before becoming chief scout at Liverpool under Rafael Benítez. He takes over from Steve Walsh, who left the Premier League champions in July to become Everton’s director of football.
