IF WE discover the earth is flat and Celtic sign Jamie Vardy at the same time, I’m going to look out the old goalkeeper gloves and ask Brendan if there is any chance of a game on Wednesday night.
The once-prolific striker has been on the look-out for a new club since relegated Leicester City decided against renewing his deal and allowed him to walk away for nothing at the end of a wretched campaign.
Since then, there has been all sort of barmy talk of a reunion with his former Kings Power gaffer Rodgers at the champions.
This is a player who will celebrate his 39th birthday in January. The local fire brigade will probably be on stand-by when someone sets the candles alight on his cake.
HAVING A BAWL…Jamie Vardy celebrates one of his many Leicester City goals.
There was a time when every ambitious club in the land would have scrambled for Vardy’s signature on a contract.
There was a time when the Bay City Rollers were the biggest thing in pop music.
That was then and this is now. Time rolls on, life evolves and cobwebs often obscure distant memories; enjoyable as well as painful.
Celtic sold Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes in January and the only feasible reason for parting company with the club’s most proficient goalscorer would have been the £10million on offer from the French outfit.
Okay, the Japanese international was making noises in the background about not being too happy with his lot, but he still had a chunk of his terms to run at Parkhead.
The Hoops hierarchy could have told him politely to shut up and get on with the job he was paid to do.
However, an eight-figure cheque might just prove to be irresistible for a 30-year-old player. To your humble scribe, that’s sound and sensible fiscal wheeling and dealing.
It’s an altogether different matter that Celtic have yet to bring in a fit and proper replacement. Hence the name Jamie Vardy cropping up with monotonous regularity.
The English leagues are now underway, with the Premier fat cats catching up with the other three divisions who got a head start last weekend.
Is there anyone out there who believes Vardy has not been approached by any of these clubs?
His past deeds would surely have attracted some team who may believe they can provide a platform for the forward to resurrect the penalty-box prowess that made him an England international and one of the most-feared frontmen in the country.
AIR WE GO…Kyogo Furuhashi is on a high after scoring against Hearts in a 4-1 win at Tynecastle in November 2024.
But here we are today and Vardy is still a free agent. If he has not received a solitary offer, he might think about changing his agent.
So, dear reader, why is Vardy unattached? I reckon we can accept he has no intention of signing a cheap deal. This is his final wage negotiation as far as being a footballer is concerned.
Maybe he is pricing himself out of the market? It won’t be the first time a player’s value of his own qualities hasn’t quite matched those of interested parties.
Wherever Jamie Vardy ends up, it won’t be at Celtic.
If my reading of the situation is a tad awry, I will happily offer my services free to Brendan Rodgers to keep goal for his team for the remainder of the season.
Playing for Celtic has been on my bucket list for over half a century.
ALEX GORDON
