PLAYER PROFILE

Robert Earnshaw

Position: Forward

Height: 5'6

Weight: 9st 9lbs

Date of Birth: 1981-04-06 Mulfulira, Zambia

Robert Earnshaw

In August 2004 West Brom completed the signing of Cardiff City striker Robert Earnshaw in a club record £3million deal.

The Welsh international put pen to paper on a three-year contract at The Hawthorns, while the deal also included an option for a further 12 months, together with various add-on clauses that could see his price rise to £3.65million.

The 23-year-old had never played in the top-flight, having spent his whole career with the Bluebirds, but attracted the attention of Premiership clubs by netting 31 club and international goals last term.

The Zambian-born forward scored a total of 107 goals in 205 games for Cardiff and has already found the target seven times in just 12 appearances for Wales.

In his first season for the Baggies, Earnshaw managd to clock up 39 appearances and score 16 goals, almost singlehandedly carrying an otherwise poor strikeforce. He also continued to figure in John Toshack's Wales set-up.

However, his all-round game continued to let him down into the 2005/06 during which he put in a formal transfer request to Bryan Robson which, after some dispute, was finally granted at the end of the January transfer window when he moved to Norwich City for £3.5million.

He got back in form whilst at Norwich, and continued to impress for Wales before moving back to the top flight with a £3.5m move to Premier League new-boys Derby County in June 2007, making him their record purchase.

Boss Billy Davies told the club's official website: "We are delighted to have a new striker on board with a fantastic track record in terms of goals scored at every level he has played, including the Premier League and internationals. Robert is a fantastic addition to the squad and I'm sure the fans will be excited that we have a new fox in the box for the new season."