There's a photo of Jamie Vardy that must have been shared thousands of times over the last couple of years.

It depicts the striker sitting glum-faced on the Leicester bench next to an equally unhappy-looking loanee Harry Kane.

Little did they know back then - while still in the second tier of English football - that they'd go on to fight each other for the Golden Boot in the 2015/2016 season.

Ultimately, it was the Tottenham man who was triumphant in that particular race.

Vardy's campaign didn't go too badly, though, as he scored 24 goals to steer the Foxes to the title against odds of 5000/1.

Among the many fairytales that that glorious triumph offered, the England international's was arguably the most heartwarming.

It's well-known how he started out as a non-league player with Fleetwood Town before Leicester took a punt on him.

Things didn't go too well to start with, and new manager Craig Shakespeare has admitted the newly-turned pro was contemplating a bizarre career change - though it will surprise absolutely no-one what it was.

As reported in the Mirror, Shakespeare claims Vardy was planning to give up football and become a party rep in Ibiza before a pep talk changed his mind.

Land of WKD's

“I remember the situation really well," said Shakespeare, who was then an assistant coach under Nigel Pearson.

“Thankfully, he didn’t go to Ibiza — I think he has made the right decision.

“Jamie just needed the support and belief. He needed to know the management team had that belief in him. We even mentioned back then about not only playing in the Premier League, but also he had the attributes to play for the national team."

As much as Vardy undoubtedly has Claudio Ranieri to thank for the greatest moment of his career - best not to mention what happened after that - it sounds like he's also indebted to the coaching staff under the old set-up.

“Sometimes they do have self-doubt," Shakespeare added.

"Jamie would be the first to admit he was going through a rough patch. Myself, Nigel and Steve were here to support him.

“We told him we wanted him and believed in him. He just needed that support because he was doubting himself.”

The 30-year-old is probably a bit too old for Ibiza now anyway, but it still looks like he made the right call.

Is Jamie Vardy one of the best strikers in the Premier League? Have your say in the comments.