Jamie Vardy splashes out more than £100,000 of own money to find next non-league star to follow in his footsteps

JAMIE VARDY has forked out £100,000 to scout non-league’s next big talent.

The Leicester striker, who fired the Foxes to Premier League glory last year, was plucked from Conference side Fleetwood Town in 2012.

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And now the England star is ready to find the next player ready to have a crack at the big time.

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42 non-league footballers will turn up to Manchester City’s state-of-the-art training complex on June 5 as part of Vardy’s V9 academy.

It is aimed at players who need a second chance in the game, weren’t offered an opportunity or suffered serious injuries.

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Scouts from across Europe will attend the four-day trial period where the hopefuls will play matches against each other and Welsh sides TNS and Bangor City.

Liam Bateman was on the books as Aston Villa before a serious injury sidelined him for 18 months.

During that time he lost his agent and was released by the club before having to kick-start his career with Kettering Town.

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And speaking to the Telegraph, he will be hoping Vardy’s academy will give him another shot.

He said: “My uncle told me about the V9 Academy and he said I should give it a go. I applied and they came to watch me play one of the weeks. Then I got a call to invite me to the Academy. I don’t know if scouts watch Kettering or not, but you don’t hear of many.

“I think non-league players will get more chances now thanks to the story of Jamie Vardy and people are prepared to look outside the Football League. You see some players who make it and it’s hard to understand how, but it’s all about opportunities.”