LONDON • With nine goals from nine games, Jamie Vardy has found the net more times than five Premier League teams.

And while his form is bound to bring some transfer attention, Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has no intention of letting his prized asset leave.

With Vardy and winger Riyad Mahrez (five goals) firing on all cylinders in the early part of the new season, Leicester are fifth after nine games, three points behind second-placed Arsenal.

Top scorer Vardy can join Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Mark Stein, Emmanuel Adebayor, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Daniel Sturridge as only the eighth player to score in seven straight Premier League games, should he net against Crystal Palace today.

"Nobody goes in January - not Riyad (Mahrez), not Jamie, not (Jeffrey) Schlupp, nobody," Ranieri said. "We want to improve and to achieve our goal as soon as possible. I need, the club need and the fans need all our best players.

"We are waiting for the bigger clubs but this is only speculation and we won't sell him."

Ranieri added that Vardy had to keep delivering the performances, even when the goals dry up.

"He is playing really well and I hope he can continue but football is strange," said the Italian.

"It's not important to think about goals or no goals. It's important to think about how he plays for the team. If he can continue in this way, it would be fantastic."

Palace manager Alan Pardew acknowledged that his side will have to find a way to keep the top flight's most in-form striker quiet. But he noted that there is more to Leicester than the 28-year-old England international.

"They have various offensive options, all of which are problematic," he said. "They've got good offensive players, but (Vardy) is the sharpest striker in the division at the moment."

REUTERS

LEICESTER V CRYSTAL PALACE

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