 Best playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leon Julian Brendan Best[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 September 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Notts County | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2007 | Southampton | 15 | (4) |
| 2004–2005 | → Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2 | (1) |
| 2006 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2006 | → AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2006–2007 | → Yeovil Town (loan) | 15 | (10) |
| 2007–2010 | Coventry City | 92 | (19) |
| 2010–2012 | Newcastle United | 42 | (10) |
| 2012–2015 | Blackburn Rovers | 14 | (2) |
| 2014 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 15 | (4) |
| 2014–2015 | → Derby County (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2015 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Rotherham United | 16 | (4) |
| 2016–2017 | Ipswich Town | 11 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Charlton Athletic | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 286 | (58) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2002 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2005 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 1 | (1) |
| 2008 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Republic of Ireland | 7 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:25, 1 January 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:17, 10 March 2016 (UTC) | |||
Leon Julian Brendan Best (born 19 September 1986) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He has played for the Republic of Ireland national football team. Best represented Ireland at under-21 level and won his first full international cap against Nigeria on 29 May 2009.
Best had a youth career at Notts County. His first professional club was then Premier League club Southampton. He has also played for Coventry City and Newcastle United before his 2012 move to Blackburn Rovers, where he remained for three years before leaving by mutual consent. He has since taken up short spells with Rotherham United, Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic.
- ^ "Premier League clubs submit squad lists". premierleague.com. Premier League. 1 September 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.