Marco Gabbiadini urges Sunderland to sign 'gold dust' Premier League striker after summer exit announcement

Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini has suggested that Leicester City icon Jamie Vardy "would be gold dust for a lot of Premier League teams", and would make for a great signing for the Black Cats if they win promotion to the top flight this summer.

The ex-England international announced earlier this week that he will be leaving the King Power Stadium after a hugely successful 13 years with the Foxes, during which he won an improbable Premier League title, an FA Cup, and competed in the Champions League.

But with no indication that Vardy plans on hanging up his boots any time soon, Gabbiadini has claimed that he could still do a job for any number of top flight clubs, including - potentially - Sunderland.

What has Marco Gabbiadini said about Sunderland signing Jamie Vardy?

Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, the pundit said: "He [Vardy] is not going to demand the same contract that he's on now. I think he got well rewarded for his loyalty to the club so I wouldn't think he would be anywhere near the level he's at at this stage.

"It's reminiscent of Kevin Phillips who managed to avoid too many serious injuries and kept playing late on, and he had a number of clubs didn't he? He wasn't always anywhere near first on the starting list but players like that in a tight situation they just have that knowhow, the gumption in those tricky games where you're doing everything except sticking the ball in the back of the net."

Gabbiadini added: "We saw it with Jermain Defoe when he came late in his career to Sunderland. He was fantastic. He just had that knack of rolling defenders and balls went into him in the box - he just had the knowhow to manipulate that half a yard of space that you need to score. I think Vardy definitely falls into that [category]. He might not be able to run as quickly as some players but in that 18-yard area he's dynamite."

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Commenting on Sunderland’s tendency to sign young, promising talent, Gabbiadini continued: "He'd bring the average age up but there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with being 38 or 39 as a footballer. The only bit that's wrong with it is that you've been a footballer for 22 years and you're absolutely knackered. Your body is falling to bits.

"I was fitter, leaner, my body fat was lower at 35 than it was when I was 25 but my knees were knackered. That's the only thing that stopped me playing. Age, the number doesn't matter. It's about what his body feels like and whether he's still got that desire to do it. He was a late starter to the professional game wasn't he?

"He didn't have the intensity. He was working and playing as a part-time player. So there isn't that intensity of being on the training ground every day of the week and the issues that causes."

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