Former Leicester City and England footballer Emile Heskey is returning to the club in an ambassadorial role to develop the women’s game.

Heskey’s role will see him mentor players in their transition into becoming full-time footballers after the Women’s Championship club made their women’s team professional over the summer.

The 62-cap former player will also aid City’s head of women’s football Russ Fraser in developing the women’s academy and player pathway.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be back working for Leicester City. Everybody knows how I feel about this Football Club and to be able to have the opportunity to work on such an exciting project from its inception is fantastic,” Heskey said.

“I’m looking forward to getting started with some great people and I hope that my experience, input and ideas can help LCFC Women transition to the next level.”

City chief executive Susan Whelan added: “While a number of our players have backgrounds in the professional game, providing support to players taking their first steps in the full-time model will be vital to the future success of LCFC Women. Emile’s experience and his skills as a mentor will be enormously valuable in that process.

“Furthermore, as an LCFC Academy graduate himself, we’re incredibly proud to have Emile on board to help inform the process of developing our pathway for young female players, as part of our commitment to delivering long-term opportunities for talented young girls in the city and county.”

Heskey played almost 200 games for City and scored 110 Premier League goals throughout his top-flight career.