Leicester City coach, Brendan Rodgers, says Jamie Vardy is among the finest centre forwards in world football as he described his talisman as “absolute phenomenal”.

The English, 33, has proven himself as one of the most potent strikers in the Premier League since helping Leicester return to the League in 2014, finding the net 99 times in top-flight in total.

Rodgers was already aware of the quality before he arrived at the King Power Stadium, but says his unique “appetite for the game” is what really sets him apart from the rest.

The Leicester boss speaking to Sky Sports, he said; "Before I came in, I was watching him from afar and seeing him maintain that real quality that he has as a goal scorer and I was really looking forward to working with him when I arrived.

"I was seeing the quality in the games, but it was going to be interesting to see how he was on a day-to-day basis.

"But he is right up there with the elite strikers in world football, how he threatens the line and his explosive speed over a short distance is absolutely phenomenal. He is very focused; he is in his early 30s now but he's still as quick as ever.

"He has an appetite for the game and he's got that old school mentality where he wants to fight, he wants to run and his whole attitude to the game has been absolutely brilliant since I came in. He's a natural goal scorer, if you get the service to him, he will finish."

James Maddison has also been credited as one of the brains in midfield behind the Foxes ongoing top-four bid, and has reportedly caught the eyes of many clubs including Manchester United with his performances.

Rodgers says although the 23-year-old has “got the personality of a big player”, he is constantly trying to improve his all-round game and contribute as much as he can to the club`s cause.

"He's got a self-belief, but I have to say, he is a wonderful boy. He's got the personality of a big player, he has that belief," said Rodgers. "I was interested to be able to work with James, I'd seen him from afar as a young player and I'd seen his move from Norwich to Leicester so I was keen to see how he would work close up.

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"But this is a boy who loves football. He thinks about the game, he watches the game, he just loves it and he wants to be better. He's been a joy to work with and it's a joy to see him constantly improving, but there's no doubt his personality is a big part of what he is.

"He's a super professional, how he prepares himself every single day and what's important as well, with players like that, if you don't want to kill their joy and their spirit. They have to toe the line in terms of the team but you don't want to take away that individuality, that personality and that quality because that's what makes up a fantastic team."

The former Liverpool boss added on Leicester`s chances of finishing 3rd in the Premier League: "We're in the position on merit. I think the players have done fantastically well this season to get into that position and our wish is that we can hopefully have the chance to finish it off, everything being well and the safety being paramount for everyone.

"We've been on a great journey as a team over the last year and our ambition was to earn a European place, which we knew was always going to be a big challenge.

"Someone showed us a few weeks ago that over the period of the last decade or so, the 35 of the 36 Champions League positions [from the Premier League] have been out of the big six and the one team that wasn't from that group was Leicester a few years ago. If we could join that by the end of the season, it would be an incredible achievement so we would hopefully want to finish the job."