Watch Danny Higginbotham's analysis of Jamie Vardy's evolution
Jamie Vardy has evolved into a complete centre-forward at Leicester and could be a key figure for England at the World Cup, according to Danny Higginbotham.
Vardy has scored seven goals in his last nine appearances for Claude Puel’s side and is expected to feature in England’s upcoming friendlies against Netherlands and Portugal.
“He’s a player who, in my opinion, keeps getting better and better,” former defender Higginbotham told Sky Sports. “Claude Puel has just said that he is the complete centre-forward and I do tend to agree with that.
“They have a lot more possession under Puel than they did under previous managers and that’s because other teams are showing them a lot more respect now.
“So what we’re seeing now is a lot of teams sitting back and saying, ‘We’re not going to leave you any space in behind’.
“Where previously there was space in behind, there’s nothing, so what’s happening now is that Vardy is tending to drop deep.
“What he does then is he asks questions of the centre-backs because, more often than not, one of the centre-backs is going to go with him.”
By pulling a centre-back out of position, Higginbotham says, Vardy is able to create space for him and his team-mates to run into.
“Because one of the centre-backs is stepping up, it means the rest of the defence is going to step up as well.
“All of a sudden, the space that wasn’t there before is becoming more apparent again. The space is there for Jamie Vardy to get into and he does that really well.
“What really stands out about him now is that he’s so happy to drop deep, to get the ball and turn and play it wide to either [Demarai] Gray or [Riyad] Mahrez, and his next movement will be to get into that space which has been vacated by the centre-back.
“It’s full credit to Jamie Vardy and to Claude Puel, who has noticed that he’s not just a player who can run in behind, he’s also an intelligent centre-forward.
“It’s something that could be very interesting and very important in the World Cup, especially when England play Tunisia and Panama. I imagine those two nations will sit deep, but the movement of Jamie Vardy will cause them problems.”
Watch Higginbotham’s full analysis in the video at the top of this page.
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Sourse: skysports.com
