Jamie Vardy's goalscoring form has been electric ever since Claude Puel left Leicester, and now his former manager has had some interesting things to say about the striker.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Puel claimed the language barrier made it harder to build a strong relationship with the England international:
"Jamie is a good man but sometimes he is like a child: he needs support, he needs attention.
"It was difficult for me because I was not English, it was difficult to share and explain all my feelings with him.
"When I arrived at Leicester, he scored a lot of goals. He came back from the World Cup injured, he returned without training sessions.
"It was difficult for me to use him all the time. I have a lot of time for him."
Puel wasn't out of work for long after his sacking, taking the reins at AS Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1, who currently sit within touching distance of the top four having been bottom when he took over in October. Speaking about his former club's success under his replacement, Brendan Rodgers, he is still keen to claim a small amount of credit:
"It is the same team, except for Ayoze Perez. It is the same strategy. It is a pleasure to see.
"Brendan has made a fantastic job. If you look at this team and remember the one that won the title, the whole style has changed.
"It was my work at the beginning to put in place a team with the possibility to make this progress."
He also claimed that it was his insistence to focus on young players that, in the end, may have cost him his job.
"When you put in young players, you will lose points but you need to give them game-time.
"If I wanted to work to save my job, I would put in place just the players with the right level for the moment to secure my place.
"This is why I insisted with Chilwell when everyone wanted Christian Fuchs. For me, it was the right strategy to accept losing some points for them to perform in the future."
Now Read...
How have Leicester got things so right this season?
Ranked! The 10 best forwards in the world
FourFourTwo Podcast, Episode #23: Being Rafa Benitez
