Jamie Vardy to West Ham? £15m rejection opens door for 39-year-old Championship return

Jamie Vardy is being lined up as a possible answer to West Ham United’s search for a centre-forward, with the 39-year-old free agent waiting in the wings should the club fail to land primary target Troy Parrott. The former Leicester City striker has made clear he wants to carry on playing, and he is available without a fee after his contract at Serie B side Cremonese expired, bringing a first spell outside England to an end.

That short stay in Italy has not dimmed his appetite for the game, and the London Stadium is emerging as a plausible destination. West Ham are preparing for life back in the second tier for the first time in over ten years, and they need goals at the top of the pitch. Parrott, the Irish international who left Tottenham Hotspur for AZ Alkmaar, remains their first choice, with 51 goals in two seasons in the Eredivisie underlining his potency.

The Times reports that the Hammers have already seen a £15m offer for the 26-year-old turned down, and the Dutch club are expected to stand firm. Should that prove to be the case, Vardy could be handed the opportunity to return to English football. Wilson Isidor had also been on the shortlist, although Sunderland have made it clear their striker is not for sale.

A record that still commands respect

This would be no charity signing. Vardy’s goalscoring history is the kind that Championship defences have not forgotten. He was part of the Leicester side that won promotion in 2014, scoring 16 times that season, and barely two years later he was celebrating an English title — the spearhead of the 5,000-1 fairytale that still defines his reputation.

The numbers since then only add weight. He scored 145 goals in the top flight, a tally that places him 14th on the all-time list, and claimed the Golden Boot in 2020. When the Foxes dropped into the second tier, he helped fire them straight back, winning another Championship title in 2022 with 20 goals to his name. For a club desperate for an immediate return to the Premier League, there are few more battle-hardened options on the market.

The Hammers are in a hurry

West Ham’s summer business suggests they intend to make light work of the division. They have held on to England international Jarrod Bowen and kept Nuno Espirito Santo in the dugout — a manager who already knows how to win the second tier, having done so with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2017. The arrival of Manor Solomon from Tottenham on a three-year deal, worth around £7m, adds further quality, the winger having impressed on loan at Leeds United during their promotion-winning campaign of 2025.

The season has begun with a Carabao Cup victory over Portsmouth, and the real examination starts on Sunday with a trip to Turf Moor to face fellow relegated side Burnley — one of the toughest fixtures on the calendar.

If Vardy walks through the door before the window shuts, he would bring more than goals: a relentless work rate, a winning habit and the know-how that settles tight matches. At 39, the obvious question is whether the legs still answer the demands of a 46-game season. His hunger suggests yes — and West Ham look ready to find out.

Based on reporting by The Mirror. Read the original report in full here: The Mirror’s report on West Ham’s interest in Jamie Vardy.