With money to spend thanks to the arrival of new Thai owners, City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson brought Yakubu to the club on-loan in January 2011 for the remainder of the campaign. With Everton desperate to free up some money, Leicester paid a large chunk of his wages to get him to the Walkers Stadium and drop a division to the Championship to try and help City get a place in the play-offs.

With a Premier League pedigree the Foxes faithful were expecting goals from the Nigerian international and he delivered in his debut, scoring in a 1-1 draw at Preston North End before following it up with another in a 4-2 win over Millwall the week after. In total he netted 11 goals in 20 appearances, including a hat-trick against his former club Middlesbrough. But despite netting at a good rate, City fans weren't exactly endeared to the 'Yak' thanks to his style of play, which often came across as lazy.

Leicester were linked to a permanent move for Yakubu in the summer of 2011 but instead he opted for Blackburn Rovers, signing for an undisclosed fee.