Jamie Vardy’s decision to jet off to Euro 2016 leaving Arsenal’s bid for his services unanswered hardly speaks of his unbridled enthusiasm for the move.
The Gunners’ attempt to pinch Vardy for a £20m fee supposedly some £5m less than West Ham wish to pay them for Theo Walcott makes sense.
Bagging him ahead of a tournament where he arrives full of confidence and with every chance of making clubs across the continent sit up and take notice would have negated the need to enter a costly bidding war for the 29-year-old.
Should Vardy ultimately thwart Arsenal’s affections, the club need not turn its back on the idea of an English centre-forward though.
Instead, they should turn their attentions to Liverpool, where both Daniel Sturridge and Danny Ings could be ripe for the plucking.
If Vardy shines at Euro 2016, it is likely to be at the expense of Sturridge, who also appears to have fallen behind the more durable and physical threat of Divock Origi at Anfield.
Despite limited Premier League action last term, the former was the sole Englishman inside the top 30 players across the English top flight, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 for goals-per-90-minutes ratio.
His ability to form an epic foil for a high-energy accomplice like Alexis Sanchez was proven alongside Luis Suarez in 2013/14 and he could prove an exceptional steal if Liverpool could be convinced to cash in on their fragile ace card.
Ings could be easier to pry away, after missing most of last term with a cruciate ligament injury, but was looking to be realising his promise prior to that mishap.
Having demonstrated an ability to present a varied and constant threat all along the defensive line for Burnley two seasons ago, he notched three times in his first nine competitive outings for Liverpool.
