Vardy all but retires from England, urges Southgate 'to bring youngsters in'

Jamie Vardy has all but signaled an end to his England career.

The Leicester City striker told the Guardian's Stuart James that a number of variables have factored into a decision that will see him end his Three Lions tenure with 26 caps barring a slew of unlikely circumstances.

Named to each of Gareth Southgate's England squads since a maiden call-up in May 2015, Vardy concedes he'd like to focus on club football.

"To be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while," he admitted. "I’m not getting any younger and you can see, to be fair to the gaffer, he wants to make it more youthful, which obviously had its benefits during the World Cup - we got to the semi-finals and finished fourth, which is equal to the furthest we have ever been on foreign soil.

"So I just said to Gareth that I think it's probably best from now on, especially with the way he wants to go, to bring youngsters in who he thinks have got the ability and start nurturing them into international football."

Vardy, who turns 32 in January, admits that not playing frequently for England did sway his decision. "If you’re playing week in, week out for your club, you want to be going to England to play as well."

The fleet-footed forward appeared in four matches at the World Cup in Russia, with three substitute appearances paired with a spot in the starting XI in the third-place match defeat to Belgium.

Unwilling to completely rule himself out of future squad selections, Vardy's announcement does come with a caveat. "We've not shut the door completely," Vardy continued, saying he could return if "everyone was injured."