Savio Nsereko

Early career

Nsereko was born in Kampala and started his career at 1860 Munich. He was signed by Brescia in the summer of 2005, aged 16, the minimum age limit allowed by FIFA for international transfer among European Union nations. He made his first team debut during 2005–06 Serie B season against Crotone, the last match of the season. He made 23 appearances for Brescia in all competitions, scoring three goals, before signing for West Ham.

West Ham United

On 26 January 2009, Nsereko signed for West Ham United for an undisclosed fee, thought to have been in the region of £9 million dependent on appearances and other factors, on a four-and-a-half-year contract. He was given the number 10 shirt, following the departure of Craig Bellamy to Manchester City, which bore the name "Savio". His English football, Premier League and West Ham debut came on 28 January 2009 in West Ham's 2–0 home win against Hull City. He played an important part in West Ham's win against Manchester City on 1 March 2009 by providing the assist for Jack Collison's 71st-minute goal.

Fiorentina and loans

He failed to settle at West Ham, making just one start and failing to score in any of his ten appearances. He was sold to Fiorentina for €2.7 million cash, with Manuel da Costa going the other way as part of the deal for free. West Ham retain the rights to 50 percent of the player's sell-on fee. Nsereko never broke into the first team and in January 2010 was loaned out to Bologna,…

At international level, Nsereko won the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship with Germany. He made his U19 debut on 7 September 2007, beating the Netherlands. He has also featured for the Under-20 Germany youth team at 2008–09 and 2009–10 Four Nations Tournaments. The Ugandan authorities wanted Savio to play for the Uganda national team after a new law allowed dual citizenship for Ugandans.

In October 2012, Nsereko was arrested by the police in the Thai resort of Pattaya on a false kidnap claim. He had reportedly attempted to extort €25,000 from his family by telling them he had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom.