Jamie Vardy ranked above Harry Kane & Wayne Rooney among English strikers as Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca heaps praise on his ex-Leicester employee

Vardy, who shone as the goal-scoring arrowhead of Maresca's Championship winning Leicester team last season, has carried over his form into the Premier League, and has notched four goals in ten appearances so far.

Now aged 37, the striker remains a serious goal threat and the now-Chelsea boss has been sure to heap praise on him ahead of meeting for the first time since his departure from the King Power Stadium during the summer.

Vardy moved to Leicester in 2012 after scoring an impressive 34 goals for National League side Fleetwood Town in the 2011-12 season. Thrust into the starting XI immediately after his arrival, the Englishman has not looked back since, and over the course of his time with the Foxes he has mustered four 20+ goal seasons, and a legendary Premier League title to boot. He even managed 26 caps for England, scoring seven goals in that times.

Making him a key part of his system, Vardy was crucial in Leicester's promotion under Maresca last campaign, and it was those performances that led to the Italian tactician saying that he should be placed above the likes of England legends Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane in terms of pure goal-scoring ability.

Speaking in a press conference Maresca said: "Vardy is fantastic and people don't realise how good he is. I know that England has been quite lucky with strikers, like Kane, Rooney and many others, but if you ask me he has been the best one. He can do many things, like run in behind and finish, but the best thing for me is his open mind.

"Last year he changed the way he was playing by dropping in, linking the play and he still wants to learn. But of course he still has the one thing that is most difficult to find, which is to score goals. He can be out for one week, without training, and play on the Saturday or Sunday and he's the one who scores."

When asked how Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku compared to Vardy, Maresca responded: "It is easy to coach Nico and Christo also. But the biggest difference between Nico, Christo and Jamie is that, with age, you know exactly what you need every day, because of the experience. When you are young, you don't know exactly what you need day by day to arrive at the game 100 per cent. That was the big difference between them."

Chelsea and the Foxes met in the FA Cup last season, with Maresca's Leicester ending up on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline, as late goals from Noni Madueke and Carney Chukwuemeka saw off a brave performance.

Playing with home advantage this time, Steve Coopers side will remember that game, and will be hungry for revenge. Maresca, while fond of Leicester, will not want any unexpected surprises on his return to the King Power, as a win would cement the Blues' place in the top three for another week.