Ranieri confirms willingness to sell Jamie Vardy to Real Madrid

Five years ago Vardy was playing non-League football, but now the 28-year-old is the hottest striker in the Premier League with 10 goals in 10 games.

And that has led to speculation that he will move on in the January transfer window with - incredibly - Real Madrid said to be among the interested parties.

And Foxes boss Ranieri has said that he will not stand in Vardy's way should a dream move materialise for the former Fleetwood, Halifax and Stocksbridge Steels forward.

"It is important Jamie enjoys it here but I can also understand if he wants to go to find a great club," said Ranieri.

"But it would cost a lot. If Real Madrid or some big names want to buy him they have the money to buy him.

"The valuation is made by the owners not me. Not many teams can buy him now.

"But nobody asks [for] him, he is very happy here and we don’t want to sell him – it is clear."

"He is happy with us, he is happy with his contract and that is important - maybe at the end of the season [we will offer a new contract]."

This sort of seemingly crazy speculation over a journeyman pro enjoying a purple patch crops up every so often, and it's always an enjoyable subplot to the season - even if it's alll probably complete fabrication. But don't write it off completely - it's no more unlikely than Vardy's CV already is, and if there is something real in it then that's great news for a club such as Leicester, for whom history suggests that their time in the upper reaches of the Premier League is strictly limited. Should Vardy still be knocking in the goals come January, then both player and club would be crazy not to take a big offer should one materialise - Vardy is worth tens of millions to Leicester if he's the difference between them and relegation, but assuming that survival is already in the bag by the time the next window opens then they should sell while the going is good.