RICKIE LAMBERT: TEN FACTS ABOUT OUR NEWEST BLUEBIRD

1. Lambert was in the Academy at hometown side Liverpool between the ages of ten and fifteen.

2. He briefly worked in a beetroot factory prior to being signed by Macclesfield Town in 2001.

3. Lambert spent three seasons with current City Head Coach, Paul Trollope, at Bristol Rovers.

4. The front man was the top scorer in all four divisions of English football in successive seasons in 2008/09 and 2009/10.

5. At Southampton, Lambert never missed from the penalty spot, scoring all thirty-four of his efforts from twelve yards.

6. Lambert was named alongside Peter Whittingham in the Football Manager Team of the Decade at the 2015 Football League Awards.

7. He has also won three League golden boots, been named in three PFA Teams of the Year and was crowned PFA League One Fans’ Player of the Year in 2009/10.

8. Lambert was called up for England for the first time on the same day that his wife, Amy, gave birth to his daughter, Bella Rose. He also has two older sons, Maison and Carter.

9. He made his first international appearance aged thirty-one in 2013, scoring the winner with his first touch in a 3-2 victory over Scotland – just two minutes and forty-three seconds after replacing Wayne Rooney.

10. Lambert has thirty-one Premier League goals to his name, and has scored in each of the top four divisions in English football, the League Cup, FA Cup, Football League Trophy and for his country.