Leicester City has experienced more ups and downs than most clubs in the Premier League. In fact, the Foxes hold the record for the number of promotions to the English top flight, having been promoted 13 times in their history.
During those trials and tribulations, there have been players who shined in front of goal with vital strikes. However, who are the Foxes’ top ten goalscorers in the Premier League era?
Jamie Vardy (136 goals in 307 Premier League appearances)
When we are talking about Leicester’s modern greats, the veteran forward is right up the top of the list. Having been signed from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2012 for £1m, he has established himself as one of the most deadly forwards in the English game.
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Vardy has scored a highly respectable 136 goals in 306 Premier League appearances. The most prolific campaign of his top-flight career came in season 2015/16 when his 24 goals helped the Foxes become unlikely Premier League champions.
The forward also won the Premier League Golden Boot award in 2019/20, having found the net on 23 occasions.
James Maddison (43 goals in 163 Premier League appearances)
The attacking midfielder joined the Foxes from Norwich City in the summer of 2018 for a reported fee of £20m. He went on to establish himself as a vital member of the team, scoring 43 goals in 163 Premier League games.
Although Maddison arrived at the club after they won the English top-flight title, he still won silverware with the men from the Midlands as they lifted the FA Cup in 2021.
Following the club’s relegation in 2023, the midfielder made a £40m move to Tottenham.
Riyad Mahrez (39 goals in 139 Premier League appearances)
The Algerian international will go down as one of the biggest bargains in the recent history of the English top flight. The winger joined the Foxes for a reported fee of £450,000 from Le Havre in 2014.
He enjoyed five seasons with Leicester, the highlight of which was his 17 top-flight goals in their title-winning campaign. His performances and 12 goals in season 2017/18 persuaded Manchester City to part with £60m to acquire the star’s services.
Mahrez picked up three more Premier League title-winner medals with the men from Manchester.
Harvey Barnes (35 goals in 146 Premier League appearances)
The winger came through the club’s youth academy, making 146 appearances and scoring 35 goals from 2016 until the summer of 2023 when he moved to Newcastle United following City’s relegation to the Championship.
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Barnes’s most prolific campaign came in season 2022/23 when he found the net 13 times in 34 appearances. His performances were enough for Newcastle to snap him up for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £38m.
Emile Heskey (33 goals in 123 Premier League appearances)
The forward came through the youth ranks at his hometown team and made his first-team debut in 1994. Over the next five seasons, he developed into a steady member of the first team.
He was never highly prolific for Leicester, with his most prolific goal tally in the Premier League being ten, which he achieved in seasons 1996/97 and 1997/98.
During his time with the Foxes, he helped the team to win the League Cup on two occasions in seasons 1996/97 and 1999/2000.
Heskey’s good form and goals earned him a big move to Liverpool in March 2000, a switch that saw the Reds pay Leicester a fee of around £11m for the forward.
Muzzy Izzet (33 goals in 222 Premier League appearances)
Having come through the youth ranks at Chelsea, Izzet originally arrived at Leicester on loan in 1996. However, after winning the second-tier play-offs, the Foxes paid £800,000 to make the midfielder’s deal a permanent one.
Izzet was a club stalwart in the centre of the park for the Foxes, scoring 33 goals in his 222 Premier League appearances for the club.
The playmaker was part of the Leicester team that won the League Cup in 1997 and 2000. Despite Izzet’s impressive performances, the Midlands club suffered relegation in the 2023/04 season.
The midfielder was out-of-contract that summer and joined Birmingham City as a free agent. However, arguably, the majority of fans will remember him more from his days at Leicester.
Kelechi Iheanacho (30 goals in 150 Premier League appearances)
The Nigerian international striker joined Leicester as a highly-rated young player from Manchester City in 2017 in a deal reported to be worth around £25m.
The forward enjoyed an inconsistent seven seasons with the Midlands club. His most prolific campaign in the Leicester shirt in the English top flight was in season 2020/21, a campaign in which the team also saw the Foxes win the FA Cup.
In the summer of 2024, Iheanacho left City as a free agent after his contract with the club expired.
Tony Cottee (27 goals in 85 Premier League appearances)
When the striker joined Leicester City in 1997 for a fee of £500,000, he was in the latter stages of his career. However, that didn’t stop ‘TC’ from scoring 27 goals for the Foxes in three and a half seasons with the club.
Cottee’s most prolific campaign for Leicester in the top flight came in season 1999/2000, when he scored 13 goals in 33 appearances.
During his time with Leicester, Cottee won the only silverware of his career in the English game, as the Foxes won the League Cup in 2000.
Matt Elliott (22 goals in 199 Premier League appearances)
Despite spending most of his career as a centre-back, Elliott occasionally moonlighted as a forward. He was a big threat from set-pieces.
Elliott’s most famous goals arguably came in a 2-1 win over Tranmere Rovers in the 2000 League Cup final. His brace highlighted his attacking threat.
Youri Tielemans (21 goals in 151 Premier League appearances)
The Belgium international midfielder initially joined Leicester on loan in January 2019 from French outfit Monaco. However, his move was made permanent that summer, with the Foxes splashing out a fee of around £32m.
Tielemans became an influential member of the Foxes team. His importance to the team was illustrated in the 2021 FA Cup final, as he scored the only goal against Arsenal to see Leicester lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Some superb strikes 🚀
Youri Tielemans ultimately took home #lcfc's Goal of the Season prize at the End of Season Awards earlier this week 👏 pic.twitter.com/CkRn7CzgiR
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 22, 2022
Like several teammates, Tielemans left Leicester on their relegation to the second tier in 2023. He joined the Foxes’ Midland rivals Aston Villa as a free agent.
Are any of the players on our list your favourite Leicester players?