Iconic Shirt Numbers: City's No.8s To Make Their Mark
Lancashire-born Johnny Morris was a star during wartime competitions for Manchester United in the 1940s, winning the FA Cup, while also 'guesting' for Bolton Wanderers, Wrexham and Charlton Athletic.
After a call-up to the Royal Armoured Corps tank crew, Morris' football career continued as a powerful inside-forward for Derby County until, in 1952, he joined City for a Club-record £21,500 fee.
A sum of £14,000 was paid immediately with the remainder being handed over three months later, such was the colossal nature of the transfer by Leicester's usual standards of the time.
Despite the initial surprise at Filbert Street, the England international settled in quickly and became more established as a right-half, helping the Foxes lift the Second Division title in 1954.
His fiery temperament created a crisis at the Club in January 1955 following an altercation at the Rex Hotel at Whitley Bay, leading to manager Norman Bullock resigning in protest to his light punishment.
Under David Halliday's management, however, Morris continued to be a valuable member of the squad and, in 1957, he was again key to City lifting yet another Second Division title.
Another incident saw him receive a red card in a friendly against a reserves side, but despite his misdemeanours, Morris' skilful and determined play made him a favourite over 220 appearances for City.
In 1956, meanwhile, Leicester completed the signing of prolific Glaswegian forward Jimmy Walsh from Scottish side Celtic before going on to net 92 goals in 199 outings for the Club over an eight-year spell.
A Scottish League Cup winner for the Bhoys in 1956, Walsh was one of several players to move south of the border to join Halliday's revolution at Filbert Street in the mid-1950s.
Despite only making one appearance during the 1956/57 Second Division-winning season for City, the Scotsman starred in the next six campaigns for Halliday and later Matt Gillies all in the top flight.
Two of those seasons (1958/59 and 1960/61) ended with Walsh sitting atop of the Club's scoring charts, with 20 and 29 goals respectfully, while he also played a prominent role in their League Cup bow.
In Leicester's first-ever outing in the competition, the former Celtic man netted a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Mansfield Town, and later led his team-mates out as captain in the FA Cup Final.
While City ultimately lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, it marked the start of an exciting era at Filbert Street which included an appearance in the 1961/62 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Jimmy was in fact one of the first players to wear contact lenses towards the end of his career and later managed a newsagents in Leicester's city centre after retiring from football.
Seven years following Walsh's departure, the Club completed the £100,000 acquisition of Arsenal central midfielder Jon Sammels as Jimmy Bloomfield's first piece of business at Leicester City.
Sammels' time as a Fox coincided with the reemergence of the Club as a force in the top flight with talents including Keith Weller and Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall on display at Filbert Street.
His first outing in Leicester's colours, meanwhile, ended with City lifting their first and only FA Charity Shield (now Community Shield) crown in 1971 and he quickly made his presence felt in the East Midlands.
Sammels was a trusted lieutenant of Bloomfield and he was often deployed in several experimental systems, including the Londoner's 'S plan', which saw the former Arsenal star operate in a 'sweeper' role.
His consistency for the Foxes was among his most commendable traits over the course of six-and-a-half seasons, scoring 25 goals in 271 appearances, before departing for Vancouver Whitecaps in 1978.
That was also the year in which a Leicester-born hopeful who worked on his family's fruit and veg stall in the city would sign professional forms at the Club - future England star, Gary Lineker.
After initially struggling to make his mark - being overshadowed on his debut by David Buchanan - Jock Wallace retained his faith in Lineker's fearsome potential, but often played him on the flanks.
A move to a more central position allowed Lineker to shine for the Foxes as he followed up a 19-goal haul the previous season to find the net on 26 occasions as Leicester won the Second Division in 1983.
That would prove to be the second of four consecutive terms in which the young star finished top of the goalscoring charts and enabled City - now under the guidance of Gordon Milne - to settle in the top tier.
As one part of an excellent attacking trio alongside Steve Lynex and Alan Smith, Lineker's stock rose and rose at Filbert Street and he would eventually register 103 goals for his hometown club over seven seasons.
Lineker left the Club in 1985, for Everton, before spells with Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur contributed to him becoming one of the most famous players in the world, earning 80 caps for his country.
Indeed, six of his 48 strikes for the Three Lions secured the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup, and Lineker is today one of the country's most prominent TV presenters and personalities on Match of the Day.
At the turn of the millennium, meanwhile, after three successful years as a Fox, Wales midfielder Robbie Savage switched from the No.14 shirt to wearing No.8 until signing for Birmingham City in 2002.
The determined Wrexham-born midfielder joined the Club for a free of £400,000 from Crewe Alexandria in 1997 and went on to make 39 of his 204 appearances for the Foxes in his maiden season in Leicester.
Settling quickly alongside Muzzy Izzet and Neil Lennon in the middle of Martin O'Neill's preferred starring XI, Savage represented City in the UEFA Cup against Atlético Madrid early on in his Foxes career.
He was also a prominent part of the side which finished in the top-10 for another three consecutive seasons before starring in the 2-1 League Cup Final success over Tranmere Rovers in February 2000.
After replacing Stan Collymore as City's No.8 in 2000, the Welshman continued to be an important figure under the management spells of Peter Taylor, Dave Bassett and Micky Adams.
However, by the end of the 2001/02 campaign, the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League and, following the Club's final-ever game at Filbert Street, Savage headed across the Midlands to Birmingham.
In January 2008, on the other hand, Foxes manager Ian Holloway completed the reported £500,000 signing of Derby County midfielder Matt Oakley alongside Rams team-mate Steve Howard.
The Foxes were in bad shape as the 2007/08 season reached its conclusion and, despite having the highest-ever points total for a side relegated to the third tier, the Club nonetheless sunk into League 1.
Holloway departed and was replaced by Nigel Pearson, who instantly placed Oakley at the heart of his strategy to restore Leicester's status in the second tier of English football at the first attempt.
The former Southampton midfielder, now Club captain following Stephen Clemence's injury, missed just one of City's 46 league fixtures that season as the Foxes roared to the title with 96 points to their name.
His importance to the side continued in 2009/10 and Pearson very nearly inspired his Foxes to a second successive promotion, agonisingly missing out in a play-off semi-final penalty shootout at Cardiff City.
While Pearson left the Club in 2010 to join Hull City, Oakley remained and both Paulo Sousa and Sven-Göran Eriksson continued to add to his final appearance tally of 148 outings, before leaving in 2012.
Another central midfielder to wear City's No.8 shirt was procured by Pearson - back at the Club for a second spell - from Manchester United as a direct replacement for Oakley that same summer.
Matty James arrived at King Power Stadium alongside fellow Red Devils youngster Richie de Laet wiith Pearson hoping to go one step further at Leicester to finally end their exile from the Premier League.
Predominately starring alongside either Andy King or Danny Drinkwater in midfield, James became renowned for his command of possession in the centre and swiftly earned the trust of the Club's fanbase.
The 35 appearances James made in the 2013/14 was a key factor in City finally returning to the top-flight and another 27 followed in 2014/15 as he forged a formidable partnership with Esteban Cambiasso.
However, an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament injury against Southampton in May 2015 led to over a year on the sidelines and several follow-up injuries have continued to curtail his chances of a return.
He did, though, make his 116th appearance in a narrow 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in February of this year and is currently training with Brendan Rodgers' squad ahead of the 2019/20 season's resumption.
The current incumbent of the famous shirt initially joined the Club on loan in the winter of 2019 and made such an enormous impact at the Club that he signed permanently last August - Youri Tielemans.
An established Belgium international, formerly of Anderlecht and AS Monaco, Tielemans featured in the UEFA Champions League at the age of just 16 in 2013 and was regarded as one of Europe's brightest stars.
In June 2014, he was named Belgium’s Young Player of the Year before also collecting the nation’s Most Promising Newcomer prize in January 2015, a sign of his growing reputation in his homeland.
Another successful spell followed at Monaco in France's Ligue 1 before representing his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where Belgium finished third after beating England in the third-place play-off.
Three goals in 13 appearances while on loan with the Foxes in 2018/19 endeared him to the Blue Army and the Club secured his services on a four-year contract before the current season.
This term, Tielemans has continued to showcase his talent, scoring in City's 9-0 success at Southampton in October, a month which included him netting in Belgium's win of the same scoreline against San Marino.