City have completed the permanent signing of experienced forward James Collins.
Collins has scored more than 200 senior goals since his professional career began in 2009, and has been a part of an EFL promotion-winning team six times.
The 34-year-old former Republic of Ireland international was part of Derby County's side which earned automatic promotion from Sky Bet League One last season, contributing 19 goals across all competitions for the Rams.
He joins the Imps on a permanent transfer, signing a contract until the summer of 2026. There is also a club option for a further season.
Head coach Michael Skubala said: “James is a really important signing for the group and it is a massive statement of intent from the club. He is a proven goalscorer, a top professional and will also add leadership to a young squad.
"He is a double-promotion winner from this league, scored 14 goals in helping Derby County win promotion last season and he is here first and foremost because he is hungry to score more goals, win games and contribute to achieving more success.
"Apart from the obvious goal threat that James will bring us on the pitch, he will also bring a lot to us every day at the Elite Performance Centre, particularly with the likes of Freddie Draper, Jovon Makama and Bailey Cadamarteri."
Director of football Jez George added: “Two 34-year-old players signed in this window! Everyone may be wondering about our model, but what we see in James is another metric far more important than his age – how many goals that he has scored consistently over more than 600 games. He did that for Derby County last season in helping them to win promotion and has done it all his career.
“James will also be brilliant in helping us to develop our young forwards and will add firepower, know-how and experience to the unit, which is really important. It is not easy to sign proven goal scorers of this calibre.
"This has taken a lot of work to get over the line, but patience and persistence has been the key and we are delighted that James joins us with everything to play for in our next 20 games."