Italian swear words and living on Lake Garda! How Jamie Vardy and wife Rebekah are settling into life abroad following Leicester icon's move to Serie A side Cremonese

At 38 years of age, and with no plans to retire any time soon, Vardy has signed an initial one-year contract with Cremonese - with that deal including the option for a further 12-month extension, which would take him into his 40s.

Vardy snubbed interest from a number of teams in British football, having reportedly registered on the recruitment radar of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham, and is loving his new life in picturesque surroundings.

He is said to be undertaking “intensive” language lessons, alongside wife Rebekah, with a source telling The Sun: “Jamie and Becky are already loving Italian life, and doing all they can to blend in seamlessly. The whole family is having Italian lessons, and Jamie is already au fait with some of the more colourful swear words. ‘Vaffanculo’ is his current fave; he actually knows most swear words in most languages - he is quite the polymath.

“People close to them thought Jamie would base himself out there for the season and Becky and the kids would stay as they are - but in the end they’ve decided to throw themselves in at the deep end as a family.

“Actually she really fell in love with the place a year or so ago when they went there on holiday, and it's early days but they are super happy - it's all going really well, and they've made some great new pals.”

Rebekah and her five children are yet to join Jamie in Italy on a full-time basis, with Vardy having told reporters of an elongated moving process: “They're not here yet at this moment. You have to go through all the procedures to get visas and things like that. But they're really looking forward to it. A real buzz and excitement, especially with getting to learn a new language as well. So, as a whole, we can't wait.”

Vardy made his competitive debut for Cremonese in a 0-0 draw with Verona. He has generated plenty of excitement among his new fan base - with top-flight newcomers delighted to have him on board - but questions have been asked of why the Vardys have chosen to base themselves some 80km away from training facilities and a home stadium in Cremona.