Florent Sinama Pongolle

Forward Pongolle arrived along with cousin Anthony Le Tallec in the summer of 2001 under the managerial leadership of fellow Frenchman Gerard Houllier. At the time the double signing, said to be worth in the region of 6 million, was seen as a massive coup by Houllier to get an exciting pair of frontmen who had impressed a host of top European clubs at the summer’s Toulon tournament.

Pongolle proved to be the more succesful of the two, although was unable to cement a first team place and eventually left in summer 2006 for Spanish side Recreativo Huelva on a season loan, with his contract expiring at the end of the loan. The arrivals of Crouch, Fowler, Bellamy and Kuyt had pushed him down the Anfield pecking order and was a clear sign he wasn’t in new manager Rafa Benitez‘s long term plans.

Pongolle made 66 appearances and scored 9 goals (in all competitions). He played his part in Liverpool winning the Champions League in 2005 when he and Mellor came on as subs in the Olympiakos game to great effect, both scoring and assisting in the 3-2 win.

He spent the end of the 2005-06 season on loan to Blackburn and it was initially reported he would sign a permanent deal with Mark Hughes’ side but for some reason Hughes plumped for ex-Toffee Francis Jeffers!