Kyle Lafferty has terminated his contract at Kilmarnock.

The Northern Ireland international has departed the Rugby Park club on deadline day by mutual consent. 

A club statement has confirmed that the 35-year-old has left the Ayrshire side with immediate effect.

It reads: "It’s with regret that Kyle Lafferty and Kilmarnock Football Club have parted company by mutual consent. We thank Kyle for his service to the club."

Derek McInnes is now working hard on bringing in another striker before tonight's January window deadline. The window shuts at midnight. 

It's believed the club are still working on doing business in the remaining hours. 

Lafferty first joined Killie around two-years-ago for his first spell at the club.

It ultimately ended in relegation with Tommy Wright, despite displaying some free scoring form.

READ MORE: The issues Kilmarnock must address or risk facing Championship return

He returned last January and helped fire the club to instant promotion back to the Premiership by winning the Championship title. 

Things haven't exactly worked out this season so far for either Lafferty or Killie. 

The club sit bottom of the table heading into tomorrow night's crunch battle against Dundee United.

Lafferty has been heavily involved in McInnes' plans during the opening months of the campaign. 

However, an off-field incident saw the ex-Rangers and Hearts frontman sit out ten games through suspension. He was slapped with the lengthy ban for his use of sectarian language while away on international duty.

He briefly returned to the fold for a Viaplay Cup semi-final appearance against Celtic

He then had short cameos against Rangers and Ross County prior to today's news.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for the striker.

The Herald:

At The Herald and Times we know the importance of reaching you where it's convenient, which is why we've engaged top sportswriter James Morgan to bring you an irreverent daily update on what's happening in the world of sport. Be it football, golf, rugby, cricket or something more exotic, James will tread where the best stories take him. To get this bespoke piece sent directly to your email inbox for free every day at 5pm, simply take 5 seconds to type in your email here. It's that simple!