Vardy best England striker of his generation - Maresca

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says Leicester City's Jamie Vardy is England's best striker in his generation - better even than Harry Kane or Wayne Rooney.

The Italian is preparing for a reunion with the 37-year-old forward and his former club at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

When asked about Vardy, who has started all 10 of Leicester's Premier League matches this season, scoring four times, Maresca said: "Vardy is fantastic and people don't realise how good he is.

"I know that England has been quite lucky with strikers, like Kane, Rooney and many others, but if you ask me he has been the best one.

"He can do many things, like run in behind and finish, but the best thing for me is his open mind.

"Last year he changed the way he was playing by dropping in, linking the play and he still wants to learn. But of course he still has the one thing that is most difficult to find, which is to score goals.

"He can be out for one week, without training, and play on the Saturday or Sunday and he's the one who scores."

When asked whether his Chelsea forwards are as easy to manage, Maresca added: "It is easy to coach Nico [Jackson] and Christo [Nkunku] also.

"But the biggest difference between Nico, Christo and Jamie is that, with age, you know exactly what you need every day, because of the experience. When you are young, you don't know exactly what you need day by day to arrive at the game 100 per cent. That was the big difference between them."

Vardy launched his career in non-league after getting released by boyhood heroes Sheffield Wednesday, going through spells at Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town before joining Leicester in the Championship in 2012.

Within four seasons, he famously grabbed the goals as the Foxes top scorer to help the Foxes win the Premier League in unlikely circumstances, scoring in 11 consecutive matches to break a record set by Ruud van Nistelrooy, winning Premier League and the Football Writers' Association's player of the year awards.

Vardy subsequently won the FA Cup in 2021, but his limited international career underwhelmed, scoring seven times in 26 games.

He is the oldest player to win the Premier League's golden boot and has scored the most goals in the division, aged over 30 (106).

By comparison, Kane has outscored both Vardy and Rooney, becoming the second-top scorer in Premier League history behind Alan Shearer with 213 goals. He joined Bayern Munich at the start of last season and broke the Bundesliga scoring record in a single campaign, netting 36 goals - and 44 in all competitions.

Kane also keeps adding to his record 69 goals for England, surpassing Rooney's tally of 53 in March 2023.

But Rooney's club career stands him out from the other deadly duo, winning five Premier League titles, three League Cups and a Champions League, FA Cup, Europa League and Fifa Club World Cup. He also holds Manchester United's all-time scoring record with 253 goals in all competitions.

Current Plymouth manager Rooney also played as more of a number 10 throughout much of his career, having featured at number nine, on the wing and in central midfield. Kane, 31, has mostly been a classic number nine up front, but has dropped into a number 10 position in the build-up to attacks.

At his peak, Vardy was a composed finisher who caused problems with his pace, running in behind defences and forcing mistakes with his pressing. Despite his age, he continues to be the first-choice striking option at Leicester under Steve Cooper.

There may be some unease in the stadium on Saturday after Maresca opted to leave Leicester in the summer after winning the Championship title in his only season at the club.

But he was full of respect and positive about the Foxes, although unsure how the supporters will react when they see him in the opposition ranks.

"I have no idea how they are going to receive me, but I know how I am going to be with them," added Maresca.

"I will be thankful to the club, the players and the fans, because it was a fantastic season. But I cannot control how they are going to receive me."

He spoke of his surprise - and delight - when the players arrived at his home to celebrate after clinching top-flight promotion, describing it as "probably the best present I got last season".

"When I was a player I was lucky to win things but I never thought to go to the manager’s house," said the 44-year-old, whose career included spells at West Brom, Juventus, Sevilla and Palermo.

"I feel very lucky and it shows the connection between the players and the staff.

"It showed how the team was close - the connection with the players. That they could go for parties to a different place yet they all arrived at my home.

"It was a fantastic connection and I will always be thankful to them. It was hard to leave for sure because there was a good connection in terms of human beings."