Jamie Vardy's New Chapter at Burnley: Can He Shine Again at 40?

Jamie Vardy spent the summer of 2026 in unfamiliar territory: out of contract, out of Italy and out of work. His brief “Italian job” at Cremonese ended with relegation from Serie A and a clean break after just one season.

From there, the rumour mill did what it always does with a name like his. Leicester were quickly mentioned. A romantic return to the King Power, a shot at dragging the Foxes back up after back-to-back relegations and a slide into League One. On paper, it wrote itself. In reality, emotion was parked. Vardy waited.

The Hollywood option soon appeared. “Welcome to Wrexham” seemed to demand a guest star, and Vardy’s name was never far from the script. With Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney turning the Racecourse Ground into a global stage, the idea of the former England striker rocking up in North Wales had obvious appeal.

But the move never came. The call that mattered arrived from Burnley.

Burnley, with NFL great JJ Watt among their investors, put a 12‑month deal on the table. Vardy signed. Instead of fronting a docuseries, he will now be trying to spoil the story for Reynolds and McElhenney on the pitch, lining up against Wrexham in the Championship.

There was something in the Wrexham talk, though. That much comes from Danny Simpson, Vardy’s old Leicester team-mate. Speaking to GOAL on behalf of Free Bets, Simpson said: “I think there was something there. There were a few things that were there. I did speak to him.”

Simpson’s own wish-list had a different twist. He pictured Vardy in royal blue.

“You know what I wanted? I know it's happened now but I would have liked to have seen him go to Everton. You need a striker, 20 minutes left in a game, coming on for [Thierno] Barry. Anyway, that didn't happen. That's just what I was thinking.”

What Simpson is certain about is that the engine still runs.

“He's still fit, he's still sharp, he's still going to get you goals. There's nothing on him, his weight and stuff. I hope he starts getting more games and getting goals because that's Jamie Vardy. He's always got another story, another chapter.”

That chapter now plays out at Turf Moor and will carry him beyond a landmark date. On January 11, Vardy turns 40. By then he will have joined a rare group: Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Gianluigi Buffon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – players who pushed past that birthday and stayed at the top end of the game.

Can Vardy really stretch the fairytale again, while dipping into YouTube work and Bundesliga match streaming on the side? Simpson thinks so.

“I think he has got more in him,” he said. “I think it'll come down to how he's managed with Tuesday and Saturday. I remember when he did that at Leicester, when he got them promoted. He scored 20-plus goals. He looks after himself but he needs managing right because it's tough to do that, especially in the Championship. It's up to how the manager manages him. As long as he's still hungry, which he is, he could do another year after.

“He's also looking at the future and doing his own little bits, which is only right to do by the way. I hope he keeps going because there's only a few of us left from that [Leicester title-winning] team that are still playing.”

Hunger has never been in doubt. Application, either. Vardy has already had a brief taste of life in claret, a 25‑minute cameo off the bench, but Burnley’s wider picture is grim. They sit bottom of the Championship, winless, their start to the season far from the promotion script many expected.

Wrexham are hardly flying, either. Seven points from seven games has checked the early-season buzz around the Racecourse Ground. Both clubs hit the international break staring at the table, looking for a spark.

Vardy has built a career on providing exactly that. At 40, can he do it one more time?