Jamie Vardy’s meteoric rise to stardom has been well documented as the centre forward went on to make history with Leicester City by helping the Foxes to their first ever Premier League title in May 2016. Which got me thinking; who are the best non-league exports currently playing minus Jamie Vardy? The exploits of Vardy and co. have no doubt alerted top scouts to more non-league talents as the profile of England’s lower leagues continues to grow. In this list only players that have featured at a non-league club permanently will be listed (no loans, sorry Troy Deeney).

5 – Duncan Watmore

University degree holder Watmore swapped the red and white stripes of Altrincham for those of Premier League outfit Sunderland after racking up an impressive 14 goals in 37 games for the Conference North club in the 2012-13 season. Since his days of non-league football, Watmore’s career has gone from strength to strength, turning out in both the English Premier League and Scottish Premiership for Sunderland and Hibernian respectively. His breakthrough to the Sunderland team in the summer of 2015 alerted Gareth Southgate who called the forward up for his England under-21 squad to face their Norwegian counterparts as well as an U23 United States team. England manager Sam Allardyce claimed “The impact of Duncan is one of the major factors of winning this game” after Watmore netted the winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Stoke City in November 2015. High praise indeed.

4 – Che Adams

Former Oadby Town and Ilkeston man Che Adams has taken League One by storm ever since Sheffield United snapped up his services in November 2014 for an undisclosed fee. The attacking midfielder scored two goals in just over two minutes against Tottenham Hotspur in a League Cup semi-final, a brace which immediately alerted Blades fans of his arrival. Adams’ hot form in South Yorkshire has drawn the attention of Birmingham City, who had a £1.7 million bid for the England U20 international turned down in July 2016. Despite Sheffield United’s refusal to sell Adams, his future looks increasingly likely to be one away from Bramall Lane as his stock in the footballing world keeps on rising.

3 – Andre Gray

Burnley hitman Andre Gray has just come off the back of scoring 23 goals in 41 Championship games as he helped the Clarets make an instant return to the Premier League. Despite this, Gray’s career path has had more humble beginnings. After leaving Shrewsbury Town in the summer of 2010, Gray linked up with now defunct Hinckley United after a loan spell at the club earlier on in the year. Gray cited his time at Hinckley as the moment he realised he had to kick his career back into gear, saying “Being bored all day, waiting to go training, made me really want it”. The striker left Hinckley with 29 league goals under his belt from 65 appearances to jump up a division to the Conference Premier with Luton Town. Gray’s goalscoring helped the Hatters return to the Football League in 2014, as he received the Conference Golden Boot after scoring 30 goals in a total of 44 games.

His exploits earned him a move to newly promoted Championship side Brentford and Gray capped off an impressive debut season in West London with 16 league goals for the 2014-15 campaign. Such form prompted the hand of Burnley who snapped up the striker for a cool £6 million and the investment paid off as Gray helped fire Burnley straight back into the heights of the Premier League.

2 – Charlie Austin

Austin’s journey from non-league to the Premier League has been well documented by fans and pundits alike. The Southampton forward has been on the books of no less than four non-league clubs, however the striker really found his feet at Poole Town, scoring an astounding 48 goals in 42 the Wessex Premier Division. His sensational strike rate caught the eye of Swindon Town who signed Austin, for an undisclosed amount, after he scored a hat trick in a reserve game against Swansea City for the Robins. Since then, Austin has scored, on average, more than once every two games at Swindon Town, Queens Park Rangers and Burnley as he has racked up an estimated £9.5 million for clubs in transfer fees over his career.

The 27 year-old’s goalscoring abilities earned him a call up to the England squad in May 2015 and in January 2016, Austin made the move back to the South Coast as Southampton secured his signature for £4 million. Austin marked his debut with a goal against 20 times English champions Manchester United at Old Trafford however shortly after picked up an injury, ruling him out for the rest of the campaign.

1 – Chris Smalling

At number one is a player who is probably the first name on the England team sheet after an impressive 2015-16 season. England international Chris Smalling started off his career at Maidstone United as the centre back made 12 appearances, scoring one goal for the Kent based club. Smalling’s performances attracted the interest of Charlton, Reading and Middlesbrough, the latter of whom he signed for. Despite signing a two-year contract with the Teesiders, Smalling’s deal was soon cancelled after concerns about homesickness. This let Fulham in for the defender and the West Londoners quickly snapped him up for just £10,000. Smalling captained Fulham’s development side and made 13 appearances for the club.

After two years at Craven Cottage, Manchester United came calling. As of July 2016, Smalling has gone onto make 207 appearances in all competitions in the heart of defence for the Red Devils. Smalling’s performances has seen him become a key player for England, featuring in their 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 squads.