Gareth Southgate will not turn back to Jamie Vardy, even though England are facing a striker crisis for the Nations League finals this summer.
Three Lions boss Southgate’s No2 Steve Holland is going to watch Leicester’s home game against Arsenal on Sunday, but in-form Foxes star Vardy is not on the management's radar despite the new ankle injury which has ended first-choice centre-forward Harry Kane’s domestic season.
Vardy, now 32, chose to retire from international football after seeing little action as England got to the semi-finals of last summer's World Cup in Russia, starting only the dead-rubber group finale against Belgium and making three appearances as a sub.
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His form for Leicester under new boss Brendan Rodgers, scoring nine goals in the last 10 games, has raised the debate of an international return — especially with the lack of strikers in Kane's potential absence.
But Southgate is understood to be reluctant to go back and wants to look to the future.
That stance effectively closes the door on Vardy, despite both parties saying when he called time on his international career last summer that they could revisit the situation in the future.
Kane is facing a race to be fit for the Nations League, which sees England face Holland in a semi-final on June 6 before a third-place playoff or final, against either Portugal or Switzerland, three days later.
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Watford's Troy Deeney, 30, is another striker in form but Southgate is unlikely to look to him as he has tended to prefer to give younger players a chance.
England do have Callum Wilson, Marcus Rashford of Manchester United and even title favourites Man City's Raheem Sterling to play through the middle. Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is also growing in confidence that Kane could return for the Nations League — and even feels the Champions League Final on June 1 is a possibility if they win their semi against Dutch side Ajax.
Southgate will watch Southampton host Wilson's Bournemouth on Saturday, while Holland also checks on Tottenham’s Three Lions contingent as they face West Ham in the day's early kickoff.
