Best English striker? Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca makes surprise pick | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has made the surprise claim that Jamie Vardy is the best England striker of his generation.

At 37 years old, Vardy is still going strong, netting four goals in 10 Premier League matches so far this season. However, at international level, it’s been six years since Vardy was capped after he asked not to be selected following the 2018 World Cup, effectively ending his England career with seven goals in 26 caps.

Vardy was often frustrated during his time with the Three Lions, finding himself used as an impact substitute and back-up option initially to Wayne Rooney, then to Harry Kane.

Whether under Roy Hodgson or Gareth Southgate, Vardy’s England managers can hardly be blamed for that decision given Kane and Rooney are England’s two top goalscorers of all time with 69 and 53 goals, respectively.

Of course, the trio have also been lethal forces in the Premier League over the years. But even there, Vardy is in third place with 140, compared to 208 for Rooney and Kane’s 213.

But none of that matters to Maresca, who got to see Vardy up close during their time together at Leicester in the Championship last season.

The now-Chelsea boss believes Vardy’s adaptability and attitude help him to stand out, even more so than the famously versatile Rooney and Kane.

“Vardy is fantastic and people don’t realise how good he is,” Maresca said ahead of Chelsea’s trip to his old club this weekend. “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.”

Despite the numbers not falling in Vardy’s favour, the veteran striker will always be given extra credit for his incredible rise up the levels.

Nobody will forget his role in Leicester’s shock 2015/16 Premier League title win, scoring 24 times — second only to Kane (25) — just four years after playing in the National League and seven years after turning out for Stocksbridge Park Steels in the seventh tier of English football.