Leicester City left with vacant No.9 as Ings no longer in frame and Vardy not returning | OneFootball

Leicester City's No.9 shirt is vacant for the first time since 2012 after Patson Daka and Jordan Ayew left.

According to LeicesterMercury.co.uk, experienced striker Danny Ings is no longer in the running to strengthen Russell Martin's attack, and club legend Jamie Vardy will not be rejoining.

Vardy wore No.9 for 13 years, scoring 200 in 500 appearances. Replacing him proved difficult, with Daka tipped as successor but leaving with 29 goals in 165 games.

Ayew inherited the shirt last term, was trusted by Marti Cifuentes, but returned six goals. Pre-season has seen Nathan Opoku in No.24 and Kirsten Otchere in No.49.

Dom Ballard, a centre forward, has been mentioned after Bristol City failed with a move earlier in the window. The Robins have since turned to Plymouth Argyle's Lorent Tolaj for £4million, while Elijah Adebayo, who scored 10 Premier League goals, is a free agent on trial with Bristol City.

Vardy, now a free agent after leaving Cremonese, trained at Seagrave this month before heading to Portugal for warm weather work, prompting supporter chatter.

Source: LeicesterMercury.co.uk