22 Facts About Jermaine Beckford

Jermaine Paul Alexander Beckford was born on 9 December 1983 and is a football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Jermaine Beckford began his career as a trainee at Chelsea, and played for Wealdstone, Uxbridge, Leeds United, Carlisle United, Scunthorpe United, Everton, Leicester City, Huddersfield Town, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and Bury.

Jermaine Beckford had a trial with Championship side Crystal Palace, before signing for Leeds United in March 2006 for an undisclosed fee, having scored 35 goals in 40 games for Wealdstone that season.

Jermaine Beckford joined Carlisle United on a month's loan on 5 October 2006 and scored on his debut for the club in a game against Millwall.

Jermaine Beckford played in every single game after his arrival, scoring eight goals, as Scunthorpe went on to finish as champions.

Two bids for Jermaine Beckford were rejected by Leeds, and then he was removed from the transfer list, remaining at the club.

Jermaine Beckford then withdrew his transfer request days before scoring twice in the FA Cup fourth round, taking Tottenham Hotspur to a replay.

Jermaine Beckford won Leeds United's goal of the season at Leeds' annual Player of the Season awards for his goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

In May 2010, Jermaine Beckford signed for Everton on a four-year contract on a free transfer and was given squad number 16.

Jermaine Beckford scored his first goal for the club, a penalty, against Huddersfield Town in the League Cup in August 2010 and an injury-time equaliser at home against his future employers Bolton Wanderers in November 2010 was Beckford's first league goal for the Toffees.

Jermaine Beckford scored at Anfield against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.

Jermaine Beckford arrived at the King Power Stadium just 40 minutes before the summer transfer window closed to sign a four-year contract, making him Leicester City's 12th signing of the summer.

On 28 September 2012, it was announced that Jermaine Beckford had joined Huddersfield Town on a 93-day emergency loan until 29 December, following a week training with the Leicester City under 21 squad and a failed loan bid from the same club on 31 August.

Jermaine Beckford rediscovered his form, and in total he scored 18 goals for Preston in 31 appearances in all competitions, including a hat-trick in the play-off final at Wembley against Swindon Town on 24 May 2015 to win the club promotion to the Championship.

Jermaine Beckford made ten league appearances plus one in the League Cup in his first full season at North End, scoring twice.

Jermaine Beckford started a total of 15 matches for the club, plus three appearances as a substitute, and scored eight goals.

Jermaine Beckford was approached by Grenada's coach Tommy Taylor with a view to playing for the Grenada national football team in May 2009.

In May 2011, the Jamaica Star reported that Jermaine Beckford was close to finalising an agreement to play for Jamaica.

In November 2012, the Jamaican Football Federation reported that Jermaine Beckford had shown interest playing for the Reggae Boyz and was in the pool of players eligible to be called up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

On 31 January 2013, Jermaine Beckford was called up to the Jamaica squad for the first time for Jamaica's fixture against Mexico, but had to pull out of the squad a day later with an injury.

Jermaine Beckford made a total of six appearances for Jamaica, scoring one goal in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match against the United States in June 2013.

Since retiring, Jermaine Beckford has made numerous television appearances as a football pundit.