Nolberto Solano Bio Send To Friend  

Solano was something of a Newcastle legend, having played for the club since 1998 - barring an 18-month sojourn to Aston Villa, before he decided to move to London at the end of the summer 2007 transfer window and join West Ham.

One of the best crossers of the ball in the top flight and excellent on set-pieces, Solano has always been a dangerous customer.

However, he found himself playing in an unfamiliar right-back role for much of 2006/07 due to the Magpies' injury woes. He even excelled in that position, but should find himself back on the wing for the Hammers.

Natural attacking instincts and great control made him a massive favourite since he was snapped up by Kenny Dalglish from Boca Juniors for a fee of £2.5million.

The player was initially registered as an EU player with a Greek passport. He was then implicated in the fake passports scandal and the Magpies re-registered him as non-EU.

An absolute hero in his homeland, he has established himself as a key part of the Peruvian national side - although he has endured a rocky relationship with the coaching staff.

It was his involvement with Peru that caused much controversy during his first spell in the north east.

Solano's willingness to play for Peru in World Cup qualifiers meant that he was missing important games for Newcastle and also beginning to look jaded due to the excessive travelling.

Solano was said to have promised to retire from internationals, only to play in qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup. It was rumoured that Sir Bobby Robson was ready to off-load the star until they ironed out their differences and Solano agree to concentrate on Newcastle... for the time being.

As such, in June 2001 he signed a new contract to keep him at St James' for five more years.

Solano knuckled down to turn in a string of fine performances, and the arrival of Laurent Robert on the opposite flank offered real balance to the side.

But Robson and Solano and were at loggerheads again at the start of the 2003/04 season over his commitments with Peru in qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup, leading to him being dropped to the reserves.

There were rumours of a transfer, and although he won his place back following an injury to Lee Bowyer it was clear that Newcastle would sell if a bid came in.

Aston Villa made their move at the end of January 2004, signing the player on a deal to run until the summer of 2006 for £1.5million.

Solano scored 38 goals in 233 games for Newcastle United in his first spell.

The player made his Villa debut in a 5-0 demolition of Leicester City and his level of performance soon made him a popular figure in the stands.

But a hamstring injury then ruled him out for four weeks - and when he returned he was sent off against Middlesbrough.

He was a vital player for Villa in 2004/05 as they battled unsuccessfully for a place in Europe.

But at the start of 2005/06 there was a great deal of speculation over his future, with Liverpool rumoured to be his next destination. Eventually Villa said they would not stand in the midfielder's way.

Liverpool did not make a move, instead, right as the transfer window closed, Newcastle moved in to take him back to St James' Park - a popular move.

Solano was sent off for final conduct in his final appearance for Villa, leaving a two-game ban still remaining for the start of his second Magpies stint.

The player scored nine goals in 52 games for Villa.

It was like the player had never been away, back as a crowd favourite on Tyneside. He made his 300th appearance at the end of 2006/07.

Towards the end of that season, Solano signed a new one-year contract at Newcastle as his previous deal was nearing its expiry date. However, a few months later he stated his desire to move to London in order to be closer to his family, and signed for West Ham.

Providing much needed experience alongside Freddie Ljungberg in the Hammers' midfield, the 32-year-old has been a top flight regular for a decade, but may find himself on the bench more often than not in Curbishley's expensively assembled squad.