At first, Vardy’s goal-shy form was one of missed chances. Under Steve Cooper, he was clinical, scoring four goals from 12 shots in 11 games.

In his first nine outings under Ruud van Nistelrooy, Vardy had a whopping 28 shots, but only scored three times, two of those coming in the Dutchman’s first two matches.

In the past four Premier League fixtures, when City have failed to score, Vardy’s had three shots, and all of those came against Brentford.

Having had at least one attempt at goal in his first nine appearances under van Nistelrooy, including six each in the games against Wolves and Crystal Palace, he then failed to muster a shot against Everton, Arsenal and West Ham.

So the chances are drying up. But whose fault is that? Is Vardy not getting into the right positions, not making the right runs, nor finding space in the box? Or has the creativity behind him dried up?

That could probably be argued either way. City do seem to be progressing the ball into the final third as often as they were when Vardy was enjoying chances, but Jordan Ayew and Bobby De Cordova-Reid have been playing on the wings more recently, with van Nistelrooy sacrificing some of the creativity in order to have greater control of the ball.

One other potential factor is the number of minutes Vardy has played. While he keeps himself in excellent nick, he’s played a lot of football.

He’s long surpassed the number of minutes he played in the whole of last season, while if he plays 65 minutes in each of City’s next two games, he’ll have surpassed his game-time from 21-22 and 22-23 too, even with two months still to go.

Is the number of minutes catching up with him? Even for a very professional 38-year-old, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

But then again, you wouldn’t have said he looked tired in the recent defeat to Brentford, when he was twice denied by smart Mark Flekken stops, including for one chance that Vardy practically created himself.

What would be the benefits to dropping him?

If dropping Vardy is under consideration, part of the discussion will revolve around who replaces him. Patson Daka would be that man.

It feels like, if Daka was starting, City would have a very willing runner and while it’s not the case that Vardy shirks his pressing duties, but it feels like the Zambian would be able to chase down defenders more consistently.

He also gets on the ball more often. The stats show Daka is averaging 31 touches per match, compared with Vardy’s 19, and so that may help City link play more effectively in the final third.

But would Daka’s finishing be trusted in high-pressure matches. Last season, Enzo Maresca rotated between Vardy, Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho, but when it came to the crunch matches in the final few weeks, Vardy was a consistent presence in the team.

What have the pundits said?

According to the pundits, City have a Vardy problem. But the problem is not Vardy himself.

For former City and Arsenal centre-back Martin Keown, the reliance on Vardy to be the main goalscorer is why the club find themselves in the battle at the bottom. They should have moved on by now.

Keown said on talkSPORT: “I think what their problem is when you’re relying on a 38-year-old striker in Vardy.

“You get to those sort of numbers and that sort of age, it’s quite remarkable and a testament to him that he’s still there as almost the lone player.

“(But) he shouldn’t still be their best striker. They should have developed that by now. That’s an issue for them, getting people to put the ball in the back of the net.

“They’ve not really had the expenditure, things have sort of slowed down in that direction in the last few years.”

For former City captain Wes Morgan, it’s a similar issue. He doesn’t feel City truly have the options to push Vardy, meaning he’s not even being replaced late in games. Vardy’s played the full 90 in nine of van Nistelrooy’s 14 league outings.

Morgan said on Sky Sports: “I know he’s got that body type and that hunger to keep going and going and going, but at the same time, who is going to succeed him?

“Who is putting that pressure on him? Who is saying: ‘Okay, you’re doing well, but I’m right on your back to chase you in case you stop scoring the goals’?

“I’m glad to see him still out there but you want to be looking for someone to come on at 60 minutes, take over, put a performance in and test him in that striker position.”

What has van Nistelrooy said?

While van Nistelrooy has not discussed Vardy’s form over the past few weeks, his previous comments suggest he would be of the opinion that the onus is on the rest of the team to create chances for him.

Discussing Vardy’s six-game dry spell prior to his goal at Tottenham, van Nistelrooy said: “I’m very happy you noticed (Vardy is having more shots) because it’s a vital stat in the belief, creating chances. Taking them, that’s the next step.

“Jamie, one of his best qualities is that he’s not affected by missing a chance. He’s like: ‘Next, next, next.’

“If we keep playing like this and get him into these situations, he will start scoring. It’s up to us to create the chances for him and the goals will come.”

What about Vardy’s future?

If there are reasonable discussions to be had over whether Vardy should be dropped from the team, then that naturally leads on to discussions over whether he deserves a new contract.

Vardy’s deal expires in June and there are no indications that he wants to retire. City will have the choice if they want to offer him a new contract or not.

Obviously, the league they’re in will be a factor in their decision, but beyond that they will have to ask themselves if it’s in the best interests of the club to pay a star striker-level wages to a player who will turn 39 during the campaign.

They will also have to weigh up how much it would cost to sign a striker who can do what Vardy does.

And they will have to predict how much Vardy might be able to offer next season. His tally of seven league goals this season is more than double the amount he managed when City were relegated two years ago, so there’s not an obvious trend of decline.

For van Nistelrooy, who sees him day in, day out, there appears to be no doubt that Vardy can’t keep going.

He said in late January: “It’s difficult to look into the future, but if I look at it now, at a 38-year-old striker in the Premier League who is performing like he is, with his fitness levels and his intelligent movement in and out of possession, and the leader that he is for us, it’s remarkable. The way he looks after himself, for me it implies he can carry on for a long time.”

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