Claudio Ranieri adamant his Leicester heroes are staying put
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It’s not something many would have expected pre-season, but Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri has had to put the stoppers out over fears Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez could leave the club in January.
The pair have been in excellent form this season, playing a major part in Leicester’s superb start to the Premier League.
The Foxes had the longest unbeaten run to kick off the campaign, and Vardy is the league’s top scorer with nine goals and is 9/1 to be top goalscorer this season.
The former Fleetwood man has bagged in each of his last league six games and is now a regular name in the England squad, while Mahrez has chipped in with five goals himself.
The duo’s form has understandably attracted attention from rival clubs, but ahead of their home tie with Crystal Palace this weekend, Ranieri has sent out an early warning to any perusing clubs.
Speaking of Vardy’s future, Ranieri stated: “Nobody goes in January, not Riyad Mahrez, not him (Vardy). Me, the club and our fans need all our best players.”
The following sentence may need to be re-read to be believed, but Ranieri was also forced to dampen similarities with Vardy and err, Barcelona star Neymar.
The La Liga forward has one goal less than Vardy this season, but the Leicester boss isn’t having any of the comparisons.
“It is too early to talk about Vardy along with Neymar,” Ranieri explained ahead of Saturday’s game.
“It is the first year he showed this attitude in the Premier League. If he can continue in this way it will be fantastic.”
Vardy is 4/1 to open the scoring at the King Power stadium and 13/10 to net anytime, with the player in arguably the form of his life after grabbing just five goals last season.
The 28-year-old to score and Leicester to win is 14/5.
The hosts are 6/5 to win this top-six clash, with a draw priced with Ladbrokes at 12/5.
Visitors Palace are 11/5 for the three points, with the Eagles winning three of their four away games in the Premier League this term.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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