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It’s not the best time to be a Leicester City fan.
A decade on from their fairytale Premier League triumph in 2016, Leicester have endured successive relegations in the last two seasons, dropping first from the top flight to the Championship and then again into League One, the third tier of English football.
For a club that was recently competing in Europe and collecting domestic silverware, it is a dramatic and almost unimaginable decline. Unsurprisingly, the spotlight is now firmly fixed on their squad, academy structure and long-term planning.
Against that backdrop, Leicester are turning to experience in the form of former Liverpool striker Danny Ings.
The 33-year-old is set to sign a one-year deal at the King Power after leaving Sheffield United at the end of last season, according to reports from The Telegraph.
It’s reported that Ings is expected at Leicester’s Seagrave training ground in the coming days to undergo a medical and finalise the move.
Leicester boss Russell Martin is said to view Ings as a key dressing-room figure, someone whose experience across Liverpool, Southampton, Aston Villa, West Ham and most recently Sheffield United can help set standards in a young squad.
For Liverpool fans, Ings will always be remembered as a highly talented player whose career was unfortunately hampered by serious injuries.
Signed by Brendan Rodgers in 2015, Ings’ time at Liverpool was plagued by knee injuries that limited him to just 25 appearances and four goals across all competitions.
Despite these setbacks, he remained somewhat of fan favourite on Merseyside.
Leicester’s rebuild will properly get underway over the coming weeks as Russell Martin puts his squad through a busy pre-season schedule.
The Foxes begin with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Northampton Town at the Seagrave training complex on 11 July, before heading to Bristol Rovers’ Memorial Stadium on 14 July and League One rivals Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium on 18 July.
A warm‑weather camp in Spain follows, where the Foxes are set to face Cadiz and Malaga at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador on 22 and 25 July respectively.