How much Birmingham City may need to pay Jamie Vardy in wages | OneFootball

We looked at how much Birmingham City may need to pay former Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy in wages if he joins the club.

As Birmingham City continue their preparations for life back in the Championship, they are reportedly targeting an ambitious move for former Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.

After spending a reported total of around £24 million during the summer transfer window, including £15 million on Fulham striker Jay Stansfield, Birmingham won the League One title last season in comprehensive fashion, and their total of 111 points set a new EFL record.

Blues owner Tom Wagner has made no secret of the fact the club are targeting back-to-back promotions next season, and it has been a busy start to the summer transfer window for the ambitious Midlands outfit, with six new signings arriving so far in James Beadle, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Tommy Doyle, Kanya Fujimoto, Demarai Gray and Kyogo Furuhashi.

However, despite the influx of new additions, it seems Birmingham are far from done in the transfer market, and Football Insider reported on Friday that the club have "registered their interest" in signing Vardy, who departed Leicester at the end of his contract this summer.

Vardy enjoyed an illustrious 13-year spell at the King Power Stadium after joining the Foxes from then non-league side Fleetwood Town for a fee of just £1 million in May 2012, winning the Premier League title, the FA Cup, the Community Shield and two Championship titles during that time, as well as achieving a host of other individual accolades.

Over two months on from his emotional final game for Leicester, Vardy is still yet to find a new club, but that could all be set to change after the Blues entered the race for his signature.

Birmingham City plotting ambitious Jamie Vardy move after Leicester City exit

After Vardy announced that his long spell at Leicester would be coming to an end, it was claimed that Wolverhampton Wandererers were the front-runners to land his signature, but with no further developments since then, a move to Molineux does not look to be on the cards for the 38-year-old.

West Ham United were also said to be keen on Vardy, along with newly-promoted duo Leeds United and Burnley, while it was even suggested that he had been offered to Manchester United, but the Premier League giants do not appear to be interested at this stage.

Vardy has been linked with another ambitious Championship outfit in Wrexham, while Rangers are also believed to be keen on the former England international, and manager Russell Martin did little to shut down the speculation when asked about his potential arrival at Ibrox earlier this month.

It seems Vardy also has overseas suitors, with Spanish side Valencia thought to be among his admirers, but he will not be making the move to Italy with Genoa after manager Patrick Vieira reportedly blocked a deal for the striker, despite sporting director Flavio Ricciardella being in favour of the transfer.

With Vardy said to be hoping to remain in the Premier League, Birmingham could be set for disappointment in their pursuit of the ex-Leicester talisman, but we looked at how much the club may have to pay him in wages if he was to make the switch to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

How much Birmingham City may need to pay Jamie Vardy in wages amid transfer talk

According to Capology, Vardy was on £140,000-a-week and £7,280,000-a-year at Leicester last season, although it should be stressed that those figures are an estimate.

Vardy was the Foxes' highest-paid player, which will come as no surprise given his legendary standing at the club, and he received significantly more than their other highest earners, including Harry Winks (£90,000-a-week), Boubakary Soumare and Ricardo Pereira (both £80,000-a-week) and Conor Coady, Wilfred Ndidi and Patson Daka (all £75,000-a-week).

In contrast, Birmingham's current highest-paid player is defender Krystian Bielik, who takes home £20,000-a-week and £1,040,000-a-year, while Christoph Klarer, Paik Seung-ho and Lyndon Dykes (£15,000-a-week), Ethan Laird (£13,500-a-week) and Tomoki Iwata and Jay Stansfield (both £12,500-a-week) are also among their top earners.

During his final year at Leicester, Vardy was on a staggering £120,000 more than Bielik per week, so while he would have to take a big pay cut if he was to join the Blues, he would likely still demand a sizeable salary.

Birmingham are expected to be one of the biggest spenders outside the Premier League this summer, and although their payroll will inevitably increase as they bring in higher-profile players, it remains to be seen whether they would be willing to break their wage structure for Vardy.