Leicester City are gearing up for their return to the Premier League, with Steve Cooper side set to welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the King Power on Monday night.
A pre-season of change is almost over, with Steve Cooper replacing last season’s Championship-winning manager Enzo Maresca the biggest of them all.
Leicester City also sold their best player in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who followed Maresca to Chelsea, with the £30 million fee helping to ensure the Foxes avoid a PSR breach.
Five players have arrived, with Facundo Buonanotte the latest from Brighton, and Cooper is now close to securing a striker signing in the shape of Bayer Leverkusen centre-forward Adam Hlozek.
The Leicester boss will he hoping that is not the end of the incomings for the summer, but two iconic numbers will be unavailable to any arrivals as the club have confirmed their squad numbers ahead of the Premier League campaign.
Wilfred Ndidi and Abdul Fatawu handed new Leicester City shirt numbers
Perhaps the most iconic current Leicester shirt number is Jamie Vardy’s number nine, with the striker having achieved legend status at the club.
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However, there have been many recognisable shirt numbers at the Foxes over the years, with some instantly recognised as ‘belonging’ to certain players.
Now, Wilfred Ndidi and Abdul Fatawu will hope to add their names to that list as both have been handed new numbers.
Ndidi has been at the club for seven-and-a-half years and extended his stay by signing a new contract earlier this summer.
Across that time he has adorned the number 26, but has now been handed the number six; an iconic number at Leicester given it’s association with the likes of Harry Cross, Muzzy Izzet and Robert Huth across the club’s history.
The number seven shirt is one that is held in the high regard globally, with the number synonymous with the likes of David Beckham at Manchester Untied and Cristiano Ronaldo.
That shirt will be worn by Abdul Fatawu and is one that also has a rich history at the club having been worm by the likes of Mal Griffiths, Howard Riley and Neil Lennon.
Last season, Fatawu wore the number 18 shirt but has upgraded now that his loan has been made permanent.
Leicester City leave notable shirt number vacant with Cooper eyeing more signings
Last season nobody wore either the number six or seven for Leicester, so Ndidi and Fatawu have not taken anyone else’s shirt.
Most of the traditional numbers have now been taken, but there is one that remains vacant.
The number 11 shirt has not been assigned, which could be telling as Cooper eyes a winger signing.
Excitingly for Leicester fans, this is also the number transfer target Wilfried Zaha wore across his nine-season second spell at Crystal Palace, hinting that it could have been left free for him by Leicester.
A deal that would see Leicester pay Galatasary a £7 million loan fee for Zaha looked close earlier in the week but the deal has hit a stumbling block due to the tax the player would have to pay as a result of retuning to England from Turkey.
Cooper will hope this proves to be a resolvable issue, as Zaha would add real quality to his attacking options.