The French-born Ivory Coast international joined City in the January transfer window of 2011 and immediately secured his status as a cult hero with the Blue Army - scoring the fastest ever goal by a City debutant in an 2-2 draw with Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup.

While unquestionably an attacking threat, Bamba's primary talents lay in defence, where he quickly won the affection of the Foxes faithful with his powerful brand of central defending, allied with the football talents typical of such a free-spirited player.

Sol began his professional career with Paris Saint Germain, but made only two first team appearances before joining Scottish Premier League side Dunfermline in July 2006. He reached the Scottish Cup Final with Dunfermline in 2007, but following the club's relegation from the SPL, Bamba always looked likely to move on.

He did so in 2009, returning to the top flight with Hibernian and signing a three-year deal. During his two years in Edinburgh, Sol was regularly used in a defensive midfield berth, as well as his more customary centre-back role, and won his first call up to the Ivory Coast squad in 2008 for a friendly against Israel.

He was selected for the World Cup squad that, managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson, travelled to South Africa in 2010 but, despite scoring in a warm-up game against Paraguay, was unable to break into the starting eleven during the tournament itself.