A surprise English club has emerged as the clear favourites to sign Jamie Vardy, who is leaving Cremonese when his contract expires this summer.

The former England striker made the emotional decision to leave Leicester City last summer and make the move to the Serie A outfit.

Cremonese were hoping that Vardy would score enough goals for them to retain their status in Italy’s top tier. La Cremo enjoyed a great start to the campaign as they tasted defeat in just four of their opening 14 matches.

A horror run of form saw them slip into the relegation zone, though. Despite winning two of their final three matches, the club finished 18th and dropped back down to Serie B.

Vardy, who recorded seven goals and three assists in 29 matches this season and became the first English player to win the Serie A Player of the Month award, has made the decision to leave the club following their relegation and will become a free agent.

Clear Favourites Emerge in Race to Sign Jamie Vardy

BBC Sport have reported that Vardy, now 39 years old, is still enjoying his football and believes he can continue playing at a high level.

BettingLounge have now revealed the 12 favourites to sign Vardy this summer, with a return to the United Kingdom on the cards.

Hull City, who secured their promotion to the Premier League with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough in the Championship playoff final, have been given odds of 28/1.

Hearts are on the lookout for a new striker after losing Laurence Shankland to Rangers and could turn to Vardy as his replacement.

West Ham United, who will play in England’s second tier next season after suffering relegation from the Premier League, have been given odds of 10/1.

Wrexham are fifth favourites to sign Vardy, while Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers are fourth and third respectively.

The bookies think he could make a sensational return to Leicester, who he played for between 2012-2025, scoring 200 goals in 500 appearances in the process.

Sheffield Wednesday, the club who Vardy supported as a child and still does today, are the clear favourites. Vardy played for the Owls in his youth before being released at 15 years old. They are currently leading the race for his signature, but whether they can get a deal done remains to be seen.

Vardy and his wife, Rebekah, have a large family with six children in total. They have had three children together, as well as one daughter from Jamie’s previous relationship and two children from Rebekah’s previous relationships.

Speaking to SPORTbible earlier this month, Vardy said he wants to keep playing for as long as he can, and then intends to spend time with his kids after retiring. He said:

He added: “The main thing for me is, you sacrifice so much during a football career on things you miss out. And I think when it comes to, I’m finished with football side of things, I want to make sure that I can spend some quality time with my wife and kids.

“It’s something that I’ve missed – big chunks of them growing up at different ages and things like that. So I don’t want to be missing anymore. The kids, they love coming to watch me play football, and it’s a real enjoyment for them.”

The Tottenham Hotspur owners have released a short statement in response to the disappointing 2025/26 season that ultimately ended on a positive note with the club avoiding relegation to the Championship on the final day of the campaign.

A disastrous Premier League season, in which Spurs had three different head coaches, ended with a minuscule amount of positivity with the win over Everton ensuring the Lilywhites were not relegated from the top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The Lewis Family, who own and run the club, have come in for plenty of criticism throughout not only this season, but previous seasons, with protests after the final whistle against Everton aimed at the ownership.

Lewis Family send clear message of intent

But in a message to the supporters, the Lewis Family have pledged their allegiance to the cause, stating they have no intention of selling the club.

The statement read: “To the fans. As owners of 25 years, we have lived the highs and lows of Spurs with you.

“Finishing 17th this and last season does not reflect the stature or potential of this football club. We are bitterly disappointed and share your frustration. You, and we, expect more than this. We know this must never happen again.

“Our approach to running the club is, and has been, to trust the experts to do that, while backing them to be successful. The problems we found were deeper than we realised and were allowed to build over the last few years. We know that has eroded trust and we have to win that back. As owners, we take ultimate responsibility for the situation in which the club finds itself.

“We also take responsibility for rebuilding Spurs. Our ambition is to recapture the spirit of the club and bring back the excitement, the fearlessness and the bold football we have always felt defined us. That means football comes first. The Board and Executive team have laid out their plans to meet this ambition.”

Lewis Family are planning for the future

The move was made, with seven games of the season to go, to sack interim head coach Igor Tudor and bring in Roberto De Zerbi on a permanent deal in the hope the Italian could save the club from relegation.

He duly did that, but he will now require the full backing of the baord to ensure such a season never happens again and that he can push Spurs up the Premier League table where they belong next season and beyond.

And the Lewises say they are committed to doing just that.

The statement continued: “This will require investment – in our teams, the academy, our backroom functions and more – and we are fully committed to this. We are not selling the club. We are all in. We are investing in it. You will see more of this in the coming months.

“We care deeply about Spurs. The rebuild the club needs, and you deserve, has begun. The change required is deep. It will take time and commitment, but change is happening.

“We know that actions will speak louder than words.”

Tottenham are interested in signing one player who has been called up to the England squad for the World Cup ahead of the summer transfer window.

It’s certainly not going to be a quiet summer transfer window for Spurs, with a number of players already linked with departures.

Some in the Tottenham squad won’t want to be without European football, and the North London club failed to qualify after being involved in a relegation battle.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side managed to avoid dropping down to the Championship after securing a win over Everton on the final day.

After such a disappointing couple of years, the Tottenham hierarchy will undoubtedly want to back De Zerbi, especially after he turned things around for them in the second half of the season.

Tottenham Eyeing Man City Transfer

According to a report from the Independent, Tottenham are now considering a deal to sign John Stones to bring in some ‘badly needed leadership’ in the summer transfer window.

Signing a new centre back could be one of their priorities, with Cristian Romero and Micky van der Ven both linked with departures.

Stones is set to be a free agent in the summer after it was confirmed that he will be leaving Manchester City following the expiration of his contract.

After years of bringing in young talents from around Europe, adding some experience to their squad could certainly be beneficial to avoid being dragged into another relegation battle.

Stones Still Won’t Come Cheap

According to David Ornstein, when John Stones signed a new deal at the Etihad Stadium back in 2021, the Man City defender was given a deal worth £250,000 a week.

Even if Tottenham are going to secure Stones’ signature on a free transfer, it’s still not going to come cheap, considering the wages they may have to offer.

If Stones is going to want to remain in the Premier League heading into the 2026-2027 season, there’s every chance he may have to drop his wage demands.

​​​​​​​Signing Stones on £250,000 a week might not be the smartest idea, especially as he struggled to play regularly in recent years due to injuries.