Ex-Leicester transfer guru reveals Vardy told him 'don't sign French players'

Leicester City's former transfer guru, Steve Walsh, has revealed Jamie Vardy pleaded with him not to sign French players after growing frustrated with Anthony Knockaert.

Knockaert was an integral part of Leicester's promotion from the Championship to the Premier League in 2014 but his style of delivery from wide areas angered Vardy.

The Frenchman had a fondness for delaying his crosses into the box, making it difficult for Vardy to predict when the ball would arrive at his feet.

After months of frustration at not receiving the ball at the desired moment, Vardy took it upon himself to seek out Walsh and offer some transfer advice.

'Anthony was a good signing for us. It was ground-breaking, I suppose, for Leicester in those days, to sign Anthony,' Walsh told The Athletic.

'When we won the Championship we had Anthony on one side and Riyad Mahrez on the other.

'Anthony could be very frustrating as a player because you never knew when the ball was coming in. He would check back three or four times before he crossed it.

'I remember Jamie saying to me once, 'Don't sign any more of these French players,' because he was sick of Anthony.'

Walsh chose to ignore Vardy's advice and later secured the bargain signing of another Frenchman, N'Golo Kante, who became a star of Leicester's Premier League winning-side of 2015.

'I saw Jamie at his villa in the Algarve not long ago and I reminded him of the time he said don't bring any more of those French players in and then I signed Kante. He said, 'Alright, alright!' But Anthony was a part of Leicester's success.'