Beckford is a blue

Striker: Beckford found the net 72 times for Leeds

Leicester City have completed the signing of Everton striker Jermaine Beckford for a fee believed to be in excess of £4 million.

Beckford, 27, becomes the thirteenth player to join Sven Goran Eriksson's Foxes renaissance and will offer much-needed firepower at the King Power Stadium. Despite spending more than any other manager in the club's history, Eriksson's team have made an indifferent start to the season and lie tenth in the Championship after five games.

Beckford broke into league football at Leeds United after he scored an impressive 54 goals in 82 games for non-league Wealdstone. Taking-in loan spells at Carlisle United and Scunthorpe United, he went on to make over 120 appearances for the Peacocks, scoring 72 times. Leeds allowed Beckford to cancel his contract a year early to allow him to join Everton, but his stint in the Premier League yielded just 8 goals in 33 appearances despite impressive performances.

Now, Beckford returns to the Football League and Leicester will hope he can find the net as they push on for promotion.

The signing of Beckford is expected to pave the way for Martyn Waghorn's exit to Hull City on loan, whilst it is not yet certain how any late improved bid for Rangers' Nikica Jelovic will be affected.

N'Guessan ends Foxes stay

Forward: Dany scored three goals for Leicester

Dany N'Guessan has left Leicester City to join Millwall for an undisclosed fee. The forward has been on loan with the Lions since the start of the season and has impressed Kenny Jackett enough to earn himself a three-year deal at the Den.

After joining the club from Lincoln City in 2009, to much acclaim, he had a moderately successful first season but failed to make his mark on the first team. N'Guessan nonetheless made 41 appearances in royal blue and netted three important goals for the Foxes.

The 24-year-old Frenchman enjoyed spells on loan at Scunthorpe United and Southampton last term and began a six month loan at the Den last month.

Meanwhile, first year professional Shane Bryne has secured a one month loan at Bury, where he will hope to secure some first team league football. 

Everton agree fee for Beckford

Leicester City and Everton have agreed a fee for striker Jermaine Beckford, with the Toffees' forward now negotiating personal terms on the move to the King Power Stadium.

Having had an offer in the region of £2 million declined by David Moyes' Everton a fortnight ago, Sven Goran Eriksson has upped his offer to somewhere within the region of £4 million as he attempts to lure an elusive goalscorer to his revolution in the East Midlands.

Meanwhile, despite rumours to the contrary Jimmy Kebe has not been the subject of a bid from the Foxes, who are looking to increase their £6.5 million offer for Rangers' Nikica Jelovic.

To keep abreast of all the Foxes' transfer deadline day moves, keep checking Of Fosse and Foxes with our Deadline Day News feed updated all the way through until the transfer window closes at 11pm tonight.

Edited 19:36: Jimmy Kebe was not having a medical and no bid was accepted by Reading for the winger.

Foxes keeping close eye on Rangers duo

Jelavic: Scored to help Rangers lift the Scottish League Cup last term

Leicester City are keeping a watchful eye over Rangers' pair Nikica Jelovic and Steven Davis. Jelovic has already been the subject of a £6.5 million bid from Sven Goran Eriksson's Foxes.

Rangers confirmed that they rejected the bid from Leicester in a statement yesterday, with the Foxes clearly impressed by the Croatian striker's credentials. The target man hit eighteen goals to help Ally McCoist's Gers to the Scottish Premier League title last season. Midfielder Davis, meanwhile, has not been subject to a bid but has been observed closely by the Foxes' scouts for weeks.

Eriksson is seeking a star striker to propel his team into the Premier League. He released Leon Crncic earlier today - the Slovenian youth international never making a senior appearance after signing with Paulo Sousa last summer - whilst Martyn Waghorn is widely tipped to move to Hull City on loan to rejoin former manager Nigel Pearson by the end of the week.

Waghorn set for Hull loan as Foxes look to Johnson

Exit: Waghorn's stock has fallen at Leicester 

Martyn Waghorn's exit from the King Power Stadium is set to be completed in the next few days as he will move to Hull City on a six-month loan deal.

Originally reported by the Daily Mail yesterday, sources close to the club have confirmed that Waghorn, who moved permanently to the King Power Stadium for £3 million a year ago, will rejoin his former manager Nigel Pearson at the KC Stadium this week. Leicester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson confirmed after the Foxes' win over Southampton on Saturday that Waghorn was being allowed to speak to other clubs as he does not feature in the Swede's plans.

Meanwhile, Eriksson's hunt for an alternative striker continues with the news that a £4 million bid for Fulham's Andy Johnson has been accepted by the London club. The former England striker has netted three times in Europe this season as the Cottagers qualified for the group stage of the Europa League and has been linked heavily linked with a move to the Championship in the press.

News of a possible move for Everton's Yakubu have resurfaced, whilst Manchester United's Federico Macheda has also been linked with a potential deal at the King Power Stadium. Certainly, another move ofr Yakubu after his successful spell in the East Midlands towards the end of last season would be a popular move amongst the Foxes' faithful.

There are just two days remaining in the summer transfer window, but both Eriksson and Football Director Andrew Neville have been interviewed in the past week and confirmed that the signing of a striker is 'close'.

Conclusions from Southampton

Leicester City	3-2	Southampton
	(HT 3-1)
Vassell 3 Wellens 22 Lambert OG 45+3		Harding 28 Connelly 53

King Power Stadium, attendance: 23,808
BBC Match Report

League Cup Conclusions from Gigg Lane

Bury	2-4	Leicester City
	(HT 1-1)
M Jones 40 Lowe 53		Schlupp 21 Gallagher 70 Dyer 77 Danns 90+3

Gigg Lane, attendance: 3,379
BBC Match Report

Neville remains keen on striker

Leicester City Football Club director Andrew Neville has reassured the club's fans that a striker is still on the radar as the transfer windows enters its final week.

The Foxes have had bids for Nicky Maynard, Shane Long and Jermain Beckford turned-down by their respective clubs, whilst they missed-out on Craig-Mackail Smith who opted instead to join Brighton and Hove Albion. Neville, however, insisted during BBC Radio Leicester's weekly phone-in that the signing of a forward remains a priority.

"We were hopeful a couple of days ago. Hopefully by Saturday we'll have somebody. It's not the answer people want but we're looking," Neville said, "It can be something that can happen very, very quickly or it can be something that's long-winded."

The Foxes have had a mixed start to the season, claiming just four points from their opening four games after poor performances at home to Reading and Bristol City - transfer target Maynard grabbing a brace for the Robins in that fixture.

They will be hoping to extend their cup run, however, after a solid second half saw youngster Jeff Schlupp grab a hat-trick en-route to a victory against Rotherham that rewards Leicester with a trip to Bury's Gigg Lane this evening.

Conclusions from Reading, Bristol and Forest

Nottingham Forest	2-2	Leicester City
	(HT 0-2)
McGugan 79 (pen) Boateng 90+4		Nugent 18 Fernandes 21

City Ground, attendance: 24,426
BBC Match Report

Bye bye Bamba?

Sol Bamba: Swapping Thai for Indian

Foxes' defender Sol Bamba is poised to leave the club and switch to Premier League Blackburn Rovers in a deal thought to be worth £3 million.

Rovers' manager Steve Kean has confirmed he is chasing the 26-year-old Ivorian international - and had an offer accepted. The Lancashire club need cover in defence after the sale of Phil Jones, who joined Manchester United for an incredible £17 million earlier this summer. Meanwhile he is also keen to fend-off interest in the highly-rated Christopher Samba.

"We are quite close," said Kean, "An offer has been put in and we are trying to progress that although it is slow. The good news is it hasn't been rejected so we are moving forward."

Bamba would certainly fit the mould at Ewood Park, with Blackburn struggling for survival in the top flight last season - a far cry indeed from their title-winning days in 1994-95. The Ivory Coast international has become a fans' favourite after his move to the King Power Stadium last season, as he scored three goals in his first two appearances for Leicester.

Sven Goran Eriksson is yet to comment on the interest in Bamba, but he has already secured cover for the Leicester City defence following the signing of Sean St Ledger from Preston. He also offered contracts to Michael Ball, who played ninety minutes in the Foxes' 4-1 League Cup victory against Rotherham last night, and popular centre half Aleksandar Tunchev. According to reports from BBC Leicester, however, the Foxes are not negotiating with Blackburn over any agreed offer.

League Cup Conclusions from the Don Valley Stadium

Rotherham United	1-4	Leicester City
	(HT 1-1)
Mills (OG) 13		Gallagher 36 Schlupp 53, 63, 71

Don Valley Stadium, attendance: 3,717
BBC Match Report

Conclusions from the Ricoh Arena

Coventry City	0-1	Leicester City
	(HT 0-0)
		Peltier 53

Ricoh Arena, attendance: 21,102
BBC Match Report

Looking ahead to the start of a new season

Leicester City will begin their pursuit of the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League when they visit Coventry City's Ricoh Arena on Saturday lunchtime.

With the Sky Blues making just two signings (goalkeeper Joe Murphy on a free transfer from Scunthorpe and Northampton Town's Chris Dunn), Foxes fans will be hoping that Sven Goran Eriksson's new star-studded line up will get off to a flying start.

But Leicester have never won at the Ricoh Arena and with the last three meetings between the two sides finishing in a draw, it seems that duck may be harder to break than the two clubs' differing summer fortunes may tell. That said, Coventry have not replaced two key men from last season, Marlon King and Aron Gunnarson both leaving and Andy Thorn thwarted in his attempts to strengthen a very much weakened team.

Despite a win over Kettering Town the week before the Poppies held Leicester to a 1-1 draw, Coventry's pre-season was marred by a 3-0 defeat to newly promoted Norwich City, the only friendly the Sky Blues played against a team not in a lower division.

Contrast that to a Leicester City pre-season that saw narrow defeats to Spanish giants Valencia and Real Madrid, plus a draw to Turkish Champions' League outfit Bursaspor. On paper the Foxes' results may not appear to be as strong, but against better opposition Eriksson's team could not be better prepared.

This is a season in which Foxes fans are expecting the very best of their team, with a heavy weight of expectation placed upon the shoulders particularly of the twelve new men to wear royal blue this term. There is a buzz of excitement around the King Power Stadium, a buzz of expectation, of hope and of belief that this could be Leicester City's year.

First, though, they face a test away from home, against a team in very differing fortunes to their own. And, this being football, that could be the toughest test of all.

Foxes' Colours

Kick Off:

Saturday, 6th August 2011 (12:30pm)

Coverage:

Full commentary on BBC Radio Leicester, BBC Radio 5 Live and Foxes Player with updates on Sky Sports News and highlights on The Football League Show, BBC One.

Odds:

Coventry City 13/5, Leicester City 1/1, Draw 5/2
(Source: Bet365.com, correct at time of publication)

Fernandes loan agreed

Loanee: Fernandes played for Man City

Leicester City have agreed terms with French outfit St Etienne to take former Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes on loan for the season.

The 24-year-old Swiss international adds a spark of World Cup talent to Sven Goran Eriksson's already strong midfield squad and he could feature against Coventry City on Saturday, subject to FA approval and international clearances.

Eriksson's tenth signing played under the Swede at Eastlands, moving to the north west in a £4.2 million deal from Swiss side Sion in 2007. After making the switch to St Etienne, Fernandes spent last season loaned out to Italian club Chievo. He added to his 33 Swiss caps when he appeared in a Euro 2012 qualification match in March, his international highlight so far being his winner against eventual winners Spain in the group stages of last summer's World Cup in South Africa.

Foxes 8th cheapest in league

Research carried-out by BBC Sport has revealed how much it costs a football fan to attend each game and placed Leicester City as the eighth cheapest club in the Championship.

The investigation into each of the 104 clubs in league football in England and Scotland examined the price of the cheapest adult match ticket, programme, pie and cup of tea to establish a league table to ascertain the cheapest day out for each club.

Liverpool came out as the most expensive, with the combined price coming to £46.95. The cheapest, meanwhile, was Rochdale where fans can watch their team with all the trimmings for as little as £16.20 per game.

In the Championship, the best value comes from Watford, whose supporters pay just £1.10 more than Rochdale fans and as little as £1.10 for a cuppa. This contrasts starkly with West Ham United, who charge a huge £47.00 for their most expensive tickets - the cheapest day out at Upton Park is in excess of forty pounds, the only club to reach this milestone.

Leicester see-off Nottingham Forest by being 10p cheaper on a cup of tea and are a full £2.20 per game cheaper than Coventry City. Derby County, meanwhile, are amongst the most expensive clubs to support in the Championship, with their cheapest day out coming-in at £32.70.

The BBC report is available for each league, in full, here. The full Championship table is copied below.

Edited 02/08/11 16:25 - This post previously inferred that Leicester City was the eighth most expensive club in the Championship. Two amendments have been made in order to correct this error.

Heskey will not be a Foxes player

Sven Goran Eriksson has confirmed that Emile Heskey will not become a Leicester City player in the foreseeable future.

Speaking candidly on BBC Radio Leicester, the Leicester City manager revealed that he had indeed spoken to the ex-England forward, who of course made his name during his early career at Filbert Street, but Heskey had turned-down the opportunity to sign for his former club, "at least for this season".

Meanwhile, Eriksson confirmed that Shane Long is on his shortlist of strikers as he bids to sign a twelfth player this summer. He also reiterated that he has contacted North Korean international Chong Tae-Se, the striker linked with a move to the King Power Stadium earlier in the summer.