David Nugent

Bury

Born in Huyton, Merseyside, Nugent was a member of the Liverpool youth academy but left aged 15. It was only once he changed his position that he then became a professional with Bury, joining the club's successful Youth and Centre of Excellence department. After making his debut as a substitute against Port Vale in March 2002 at the age of just 16, Nugent initially struggled to live up to his early potential, but an explosive start to the 2004–05 League Two season saw several larger clubs take an interest.

Preston North End

Although a target for rivals Burnley, Nugent opted to join Preston North End rather than Northampton Town from Bury in January 2005 for a fee of £100,000. He scored 10 league goals in 32 Championship appearances in 2005–06, as Preston finished fourth, losing to Leeds United in the playoff semi-final, thus failing to gain promotion. Despite transfer speculation, Nugent spent the following season at Preston, scoring 15 goals in 43 appearances, and winning England recognition. Preston finished seventh in 2006–07.

Portsmouth

After both Sunderland and Portsmouth had bids in the region of £6 million accepted for the player, Nugent was eventually unveiled as a Pompey player at a press conference alongside John Utaka on 11 July 2007. However, rumours followed just weeks later that Derby County were considering a bid for Nugent and that he would be leaving Portsmouth in the same transfer window he arrived in. In a post-match press…

Nugent made his debut for the England under-21 team against Wales in February 2005. He scored his first goal for the team on his debut, a 2–2 draw with Moldova on 15 August 2006. Teamed up front again with Arsenal's Theo Walcott, he scored his second goal in the 3–2 win over Switzerland on 6 September 2006 that advanced the team into the play-off round of 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification. He scored his third goal against Spain. In June 2007, Nugent represented the under-21s in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Netherlands. On 19 March 2007, following much speculation after Steve McClaren confirmed he had been watching Nugent, he was called into the full England squad to replace the injured Darren Bent of Charlton Athletic. On 28 March 2007, Nugent made his debut as a late substitute for England in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Andorra in Barcelona. He marked the occasion by scoring the final goal in a 3–0 win in the 93rd minute, tapping in a goal-bound shot from Jermain Defoe as it was about to cross the line. Nugent, in his post-match press interview, expressed genuine satisfaction over having accomplished a "1 Goal/1 Cap" national team record. Nugent never received another England cap, and his 11-minute national team career is the shortest of any player who has scored for England. Nugent was the first Preston player to play for the national team since Tom Finney some 49 years previously, as well as the first England…

Club

International

England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Nugent goal.

Nugent is an Everton supporter.