Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare has claimed that Jamie Vardy is amongst the best strikers in England despite his dip in form this season.

The 30-year-old was among the Premier League's leading goalscorers last term as the Foxes stormed to the title, but earlier this season went through a spell of scoring in just one of 26 games across all competitions.

However, he has since found the back of the net three times in his last four outings, earning him a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad to face Germany and Lithuania this month.

"Tell me a forward who hasn't gone through that spell. It happens. With Jamie's reaction, you could see the joy in terms of the first goal he got," Shakespeare told reporters.

"Strikers live and die by their goals but the overall performance of forwards is vitally important. There are some good [strikers] and he is proven in terms of being in the [England] squad before so he's up there with the rest of them."

Shakespeare also defended Vardy after the striker was called a "cheat" by Sevilla midfielder Samir Nasri.