"It’s baffling" - Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit reacts to Birmingham City, Jamie Vardy transfer news | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie believes Blues will have to make Jamie Vardy the main man up front if they are to lure him to the West Midlands.

Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has insisted that Birmingham City will have to make Jamie Vardy their first-choice striker if they are to convince him to join the project at St Andrew’s.

Blues are continuing to ramp up preparations for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign by being busy in the summer transfer market.

Heavily backed by Tom Wagner, Birmingham have recruited nine new faces to the West Midlands, with James Beadle, Tommy Doyle, Phil Neumann, Demarai Gray, Kanya Fujimoto, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Kyogo Furuhashi all entering the building, while Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Alfons Sampsted have turned their loan moves into permanent stays.

Blues are reportedly keen to bolster their forward options once more, with Leeds United revealing a valuation of £10 million for Mateo Joseph.

Meanwhile, Birmingham also have an interest in ex-Leicester City icon Jamie Vardy, with Football Insider reporting that the club are preparing to make a move for the free agent.

With this news in mind, pundit Lee Hendrie has weighed in with his thoughts over whether a move for Vardy can materialise.

Lee Hendrie urges Birmingham City to meet Jamie Vardy demand in order to complete capture

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie believes Birmingham City will have to make Jamie Vardy their main striker if they are to lure the 38-year-old to the West Midlands this summer.

Hendrie said: “With the Vardy situation, it’s baffling, isn’t it? You listen and read what he wants to do, with talk of him wanting to stay and play in a top European side.

“I think it would be a big signing for Birmingham City, there’s no doubt, I still think he can do a job, the only problem with Jamie Vardy is he’s one of those players that if he did go to Birmingham, he’d want to be and have to be the main striker.

“They’ve got strength in depth in that area, you certainly have to look at that, but I don’t think he’ll be one of those players that will be dropping down to the Championship and being a bit-part player, I think he’ll want to be the key player and that would be the big question mark.

“The age is always another question mark but Jamie Vardy is Jamie Vardy. He’s always capable of scoring goals, and it just shows where Birmingham are at with who they’re attracting.”

Birmingham City forward competition could put Birmingham City, Jamie Vardy move in doubt

There’s no doubt that Jamie Vardy would still be able to hit the back of the net regularly in the Championship, with the frontman scoring 18 goals the last time he graced the second tier.

However, Lee Hendrie is right when stating that Vardy will want assurances over regular starts, and Blues may not be able to guarantee that with the competition in that area.

The West Midlands outfit have just made a bold £10 million capture of Kyogo Furuhashi, with the Japanese international unlikely to be placed on the bench after such a sizeable investment, while Jay Stansfield is consistently improving and will look to be a marksman in the second tier next season to help deliver further success.

Meanwhile, Chris Davies has opted to stick with his trusted 4-2-3-1 system over the course of their promotion-clinching League One season, so it’s difficult to see him deviating away from that set up immediately to accommodate Vardy.