Leroy Lita

Leroy Lita was born on 28 December 1984 in Kinshasa, DR Congo.

Lita is a product of the Chelsea academy. In 2002, at the age of 18, he penned his first senior contract with Bristol City, but at the beginning the head coach mainly used him as a reserve player. However, by the 2004/2005 season, Leroy clinched a place in the main team and netted 29 goals during one year. The footballer made 85 appearances and chipped in 31 goals for his first senior club.

In 2005 Lita completed a move to English side Reading. The 2005/2006 season brought a broken ankle to the player, which kept him out of action for some time and resulted in his losing a place in the main team. However, Leroy managed to recuperate really soon and continued his successful performance for the club, but it seemed he was dogged by misfortune. In April 2007 the footballer got disqualified for three games; the following season he damaged a leg muscle and was sentenced to a month without football. Those setbacks did not crush the young striker though, as he fired 20 goals in 83 matches for the team.

In March 2008, Lita finalized a one-month loan deal with Charlton Athletic. He made eight appearances for the temporary team and went on to net three times, but was called back to his parent club for three last matches of the season. In October the footballer was sent on a one-month loan to Norwich City, where he made 16 appearances and kicked seven goals. After the end of his spell, Leroy went back to Reading.

In August 2009, Lita penned a three-year contract with Middlesbrough and made his début for the club several days later. From 2009 till 2011, the striker made 78 appearances and chipped in 20 goals. In August 2011, Leroy ended his Boro spell with Swansea City move. In 2013 Leroy played for Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton and Hove Albion on loan.

In the summer 2014 Lita was released from Swansea City.

From 2005 till 2007, Lita was capped nine times and contributed six goals for the England national U-21 team. He became really popular after the 2007 European U-21 Championship, where the striker banged in three goals in four matches, which helped his team to proceed to the semifinals.