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Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has signed a contract extension with the club until 2019, the club have confirmed. ESPN FC sources had revealed last week that the deal was agreed and is set to give the striker improved terms of £80,000-a-week. Leicester have been locked in talks with Vardy over a new deal for several weeks as they look to ward off potential suitors in the Premier League top scorer. The 29-year-old signed his last contract in 2014 but -- after boss Claudio Ranieri insisted earlier this season they would wait until the end of the campaign to extend the forward's deal -- Leicester have now moved to end speculation on his future. Vardy told the club website: "I'm absolutely delighted to be fighting to achieve something special with this Club, as part of this squad. I've never known a spirit like it -- from the owners, to the manager and his staff, the players and the fans. I want to be part of it for a long time. "Leicester City have shown nothing but total faith in me since the day I arrived here three and a half years ago and it's impossible to measure how much that belief has helped me to improve. I'll forever be grateful for the investment the Club has made in me and I'll spend every day working to repay it." Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri added: "Jamie is a fighter. He has had an unbelievable journey to get to this point in his career and continues to play every game as if it's his last. I love his spirit, which is a quality I want in my players above all else. "He has shown what a fantastic player he is and, more importantly, he is part of a fantastic group. I am very happy that he will stay with us for a long time." Vardy set a new Premier League record when he netted in 11 straight games before Christmas and has helped the Foxes to move three points clear at the top of the table. He joined City from Fleetwood Town, who were then a non-league club, for £1 million in 2012 and has since broken into the England squad, earning four caps, and is set to be included in Roy Hodgson's squad for Euro 2016 this summer. He has scored 44 goals in 132 appearances for the Foxes.
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