Leroy Lita

Bristol City

Born in Kinshasa, Lita made his debut for Bristol City at the start of the 2002–03 season, and his first goal followed when he scored a late winner against Port Vale in September 2002. Lita signed his first professional contract for Bristol City at the age of 18 at the start of the 2003–04 season, after being discovered by scout Roger Barton. After Brian Tinnion had taken over from Danny Wilson as manager at the start of the 2004–05 season that Lita really established himself in the first team. That year he scored 29 goals in all competitions for club and one U21 international goal taking his tally to 30 for the season.

Reading

Lita moved to Reading of the Championship on 13 July 2005 for a then club record fee of £1 million. Lita scored on his debut at home to Plymouth Argyle with a fine header to equalise, but Reading lost 2–1, however they only lost one more league game during the entire season. Lita made it three goals in his first three games as he scored two well taken goals in Reading's 3–0 win away at Preston. He scored in home wins against Swansea City in the League Cup and Burnley in the league, before scoring an overhead kick in the 3–2 win at home to Crystal Palace. He then endured a barren spell in front of goal, but he ended it with a goal in a 3–0 win at Ipswich, a result which took Reading to the top of the Championship. He then suffered an injury that kept him out for 6 weeks, but on his return against West Bromwich Albion in…

England U21 breakthrough

Lita turned down the chance to play for DR Congo in favour of pursuing an international career with England, despite having previously stated he wished to represent the country of his birth. He scored on his debut for England U21 with a goal against the Netherlands U21 in a 2–1 loss on 8 February 2005, coming on as a second-half substitute. He had to wait over a year to make his second appearance, again as a substitute, in a 3–1 win over Norway on 28 February 2006. Following excellent goal-scoring form in the Premier League, Lita was awarded with a further cap as a substitute in the 2–2 draw with Spain on 6 February 2007, scoring his second goal in three international appearances.

2007 European U21 Championship

Lita was eligible to compete in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, and was called up to the squad. In the first group game against the Czech Republic, England were awarded a penalty in the 88th minute which Lita subsequently dragged wide condemning England to a scoreless draw. However, he then scored for England in each of their next three games; a 2–2 draw against Italy, a 2–0 win over Serbia, and a 1–1 (13–12) penalty shoot-out loss to the Netherlands in the semi-finals. He was named in the UEFA Dream Team for the tournament.

As of match played 9 January 2024

Reading

Football League Championship: 2005–06 Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 2004–05 League One