Who saw this coming?

Even the most clairvoyant calcio fan could not have predicted Jamie Vardy signing for Cremonese. 

It is perhaps the most intriguing signing made by a Serie A side in the summer transfer window, the striker who played a pivotal role in Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League win nearly a decade ago has now rocked up in Serie A at the age of 38.

As he landed in Cremona, signing autographs and even a leg with a tattoo of his face, Vardy’s arrival made headline news. 

The 26-cap former England international has been without a club since being released by Leicester at the end of last season, ending his 13-year association with the Foxes.

Joining from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2012, Vardy took a while to get into his stride, before firing the goals that secured promotion for Leicester back into the Premier League ahead of the 2014-15 season.

He scored five goals in his first campaign in the big time and few would have imagined what lay in store.

Twenty-four goals came in the title-winning campaign, and he reached double figures in every season until 2022-23, with the forward ageing and Leicester suffering relegation.

A drop down to the Championship saw the goals continue to flow, 18 in 35 league games helped his side back up at the first attempt, and his final year in blue saw him finish with nine goals in the Premier League.

In all, Vardy scored 200 in 500 games for the side from the Midlands.

Now two years shy of his 40th, can he score regularly in a different country?

On the surface of things, the Grigiorossi do not have a desperate need for Vardy’s goals. Davide Nicola’s side sit in the rarified zone of the top three in Serie A.

Now, of course, we all know this heady run of two consecutive wins won’t last and the status quo will soon take shape once the international break is over, but Cremonese have shown they may not be the whipping boys many assumed prior to a ball being kicked.

There is no better way to lay down a marker for the season than winning against AC Milan at San Siro on the opening weekend. Federico Bonazzoli may have taken the plaudits due to his outrageous bicycle kick, but Nicola’s men warranted the win.

Yet where Cremonese need to secure points is against the teams around them. Against Sassuolo, a side they took four from last season in Serie B, they did just that, winning 3-2 in a thrilling encounter with a last-minute goal from the spot by Manuel De Luca.

“We merited the victory,” remarked a confident Nicola post-game. Nicola is one of Serie A’s most-celebrated relegation specialists. Generally a man brought in to work magic in the final months of a campaign, he does not tend to start seasons well.

With history in mind, the former Crotone and Torino manager asked for calm amid Cremonese’s successful start. “In today’s football the difference is often made by players who come off the bench, and today we have seen it,” he said.

“We were good not to give up and believe in ourselves, the road is long and we have to continue to work.”

The players Vardy will find himself working alongside also makes for interesting viewing. 

There are undoubtedly Ancona 2004 vibes about Cremonese’s squad, a complete mishmash of talent – young and old – coming together in the attempt to keep the Le Tigri in the top flight.

There is the old timer in Franco Vazquez, ageing but still capable of pulling strings even at 36; there is young blood in Tommaso Barbieri, Filippo Terracciano and Romano Floriani Mussolini, and then there are middle-of-the-road players, neither young nor old, like De Luca, Jari Vandeputte, Alessio Zerbin, Antonio Sanabria and overhead extraordinaire Bonazzoli.

Cremonese have spent wisely rather than frugally this summer, a shade just under €15million, and the onus will be on Nicola to keep them in the division and not repeat their last jaunt in the big time, which lasted a single season in 2022-23.

The pace is not quite what it once was, but Vardy will be a threat in behind opposing defenders and will be lethal on the counter as teams inevitably attack.

And in a league that’s never short of drama, the Vardys pitching up at newly-promoted Cremonese will be one of the stories of the season.