What Jamie Vardy has said about playing for Sheffield Wednesday as shock link emerges | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday have held discussions over bringing ex-Leicester City star Jamie Vardy to Hillsborough Stadium

Jamie Vardy has emerged as a shock transfer target for Sheffield Wednesday following David Storch's recent takeover of the Hillsborough club.

Wednesday need to oversee a significant rebuild this summer, following their relegation from the Championship to League One, which largely came because they were plunged into administration by failed now-ex-owner Dejphon Chansiri.

New owner Storch is determined to get the Owls moving in the right direction once again, and the South Yorkshire outfit have begun plotting moves in the transfer market.

Henrik Pedersen's men enjoyed a positive end to their Championship campaign, defeating West Bromwich Albion, but they earned just one other win in a woeful campaign.

Sheffield Wednesday plot emotional Jamie Vardy return - Striker has recently spoken highly of Owls

Storch completed his Wednesday takeover by the 1 May deadline he set himself, meaning that the S6 club can be active in the summer transfer window.

Furthermore, the Owls won't be deducted 15 points in League One next term, or face a cap of £7,000 per player on their weekly wages, as was initially feared when they exited administration.

Therefore, despite still facing some EFL budget restrictions, the South Yorkshire side can build a squad that may even be able to help them secure an immediate Championship return.

According to the Wednesday Word, key Owls figures have discussed the possibility of bringing Jamie Vardy to Hillsborough this summer.

Vardy joined Italian top-flight outfit Cremonese in September following a magnificent Leicester City career, which saw him score 200 goals in 500 Foxes appearances.

The former England striker played a key role as Leicester provided the footballing world with one of its greatest ever shocks by winning the 2015/16 Premier League title.

Vardy was also a member of the Foxes squad who won the East Midlands club's first-ever FA Cup in 2021.

The forward took an unorthodox route to prominence, as he represented Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town, and Fleetwood Town in non-league before joining Leicester in the summer of 2012.

He rose through the academy ranks with Wednesday, but was released by the South Yorkshire outfit when he was 16 years old.

However, speaking on the recently released Netflix documentary Untold UK: Jamie Vardy, the 39-year-old spoke fondly of the Owls, his local club: "My dream as a little kid was to play for Sheffield Wednesday.

"Every week I’d go to the Sheffield Wednesday matches, and then see David Hirst. He was a striker, and seeing him score, then all the fans jumping up and celebrating.

"Remembering what that feeling was like, it was ‘I wanna emulate what he’s doing’. I wanted to be a striker. When I was 10, I got asked to sign for Sheffield Wednesday’s youth academy, which is virtually the next step to make the path and become a professional footballer.

"It’s a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice and dedication, but signing for the academy was everything. I’d got all the way up to the Under-16s. I was quite small for my age, and I’d not had a little growth spurt yet.

"But at that point, when you get that far, you’re just like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m fine. I’m gonna play football when I’m older’. But they said no. They said, ‘You’re not big enough to make it as a professional. I know you dreamed of doing this, but no, you’re not good enough’.

"It was hard to take, and after that, pro football wasn’t even crossing my mind if I’m honest."

However, Vardy has become one of the nation's most talked-about players in recent years and made 26 appearances for England before retiring from international duty following the 2018 World Cup.

The striker's most notable moment in a Three Lions shirt came in the 2016 European Championships, when he scored the equaliser in a 2-1 group stage win over Wales.

Sheffield Wednesday return would mark fairytale end to Jamie Vardy's unique career

Having been released by Wednesday as a child, Vardy would never have thought he'd end up playing in a Champions League quarter-final for Leicester.

The Foxes also would never have thought that any striker would spearhead them to heights as lofty as a Premier League title triumph.

From non-league football to the English top flight and Serie A, Vardy has paved a unique career pathway for himself, which has been deservedly well documented and widely treasured.

Returning to Wednesday, and finally making his senior debut for the team he supported in the closing stages of his career would mark a feel-good ending to his remarkable story.