James McFadden Bio Send To Friend  

In January 2008, McFadden joined Birmingham City, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with an option for additional two years, for an initial fee of £5m and made an immediate impact.

A good passer with an ability to score from free-kicks, the Scottish international made himself a regular first-team player for the club before a serious knee injury hampered his progress.

The highly promising young striker scored 32 goals in 58 appearances for his first club Motherwell after making the breakthrough in 2000 before heading south of the border.

He joined Everton for a fee of £1.25m on transfer deadline day in September 2003. Toffees' manager David Moyes had been tracking McFadden for some time but finally got his man, touted as 'Scotland's finest young footballer', despite interest from Celtic and Rangers.

McFadden initially struggled to make an impression in the starting side, but by the 2005-06 season he formed a great partnership with James Beattie and chipped in with seven goals.

However, the arrival of Andy Johnson and the emergence of youngsters Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan restricted his first-team chances in an injury-stricken season.

With his first team action limited, he chose to move on and made the transfer to Birmingham who picked him up for a cool £5m. He became a fans' favourite, but injuries again caused him problems and he picked up a serious knee injury in the Blues' promotion winning season of 2008-09.

Having made his international debut at the age of nineteen, on a Far East tour against South Africa, he has risen to become one of the most important players for his country. Indeed, he has become a cult hero for his country due to his consistent goal scoring exploits, where he has netted a goal every three games during his career.