Leroy Lita

DOB: 28th December 1984

Position: Striker

Season of first appearance: 2018/19

Season of last appearance: 2018/19

Full Appearances: 1

Substitute: 2

Goals: 0

Also played for:

Bristol City, Reading, Charlton Athletic, Norwich City, Middlesbrough, Swansea City, Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday, Brighton & Hove Albion, Barnsley, Notts County, AO Chania, Yeovil Town, Sisaket, Salisbury, Chelmsford City, Nuneaton Borough, Stratford Town, Hednesford Town, Ilkeston Town, Coalville Town, Barwell.

Player Profile:

Born in DR Congo, Leroy moved to England and was spotted by a Chelsea scout while playing for Margate's Under 14s team against Tonbridge Angels.

He eventually left Chelsea without making a first-team appearance and moved to Bristol City where he made his debut at the start of the 2002-03 season.

Leroy signed his first professional contract for Bristol City at the age of 18 at the start of the 2003-04 season. It was the following campaign where he really established himself in the first-team, scoring 29 goals in all competitions for his club and one England U21 goal.

He moved to Reading of the Championship in July 2005 for a then club record fee of £1 million. He scored on his debut at home to Plymouth Argyle in a 2-1 defeat, however they only lost one more league game during the entire season.

His 2005-06 season ended early when he broke an ankle but Reading still won the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League.

Leroy had a promising start to life in the Premier League in 2006-07, netting the winner at home to Middlesbrough on the opening day in a 3-2 win. Reading managed to finish eighth in their first ever top flight campaign, just missing out on a UEFA Cup place. Leroy scored 14 goals that season.

He also made seven appearances for England's U21 team between 2005 and 2007, scoring on his debut against Holland in a 2-1 defeat on 8.2.05. He made four appearances at the 2007 European U21 Championships in which England reached the semi-finals, losing on penalties to Holland.

In a freak occurrence just prior to the start of the 2007-08 season, Leroy was put out of action for a month after damaging a leg muscle as he stretched in bed upon waking.

Leroy was largely out of favour in 2007-08 and spent much of it either left out or injured, he also had a loan spell at Charlton Athletic. He only scored one goal in the Premier League that season, it came on the final day against already relegated Derby County in a 4-0 away win. But Reading found themselves joining Derby, as they were relegated on goal difference.

Lita then went to Norwich City for a month-long loan in October 2008. He scored four goals in his initial six-game spell, including a hat-trick against Wolves in a 5-2 victory. Reading and Norwich agreed to extend the loan twice more. Leroy went on to score seven goals for Norwich and, in a season which ultimately ended up with relegation, was City's top scorer. Leroy returned to Reading in January.

Sheffield United had a seven-figure sum accepted by Reading for Leroy in January 2009 but the club later withdrew from proceedings after they were not willing to pay the £1.2 million signing-on fee being requested by Leroy. At the end of the season, Leroy was told by Reading that his contract wasn't being renewed.

At the start of 2009-10, Leroy joined Championship side Middlesbrough on a free transfer. He spent two seasons on Teeside, scoring 20 goals in 82 appearances.

In the summer of 2011, Swansea City, newly promoted to the Premier League, paid £1.75m to secure Leroy's services. He spent three seasons in South Wales with loan spells at Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton.

Leroy left Swansea in the summer of 2014 and signed a one-year deal at League One side Barnsley. He joined Notts County on loan in March until the end of the 2014–15 season.

The start of 2015-16 saw Leroy sign for Greek side AO Chania. Leroy returned to the UK in March 2016 when he joined League Two side Yeovil Town on a short-term deal until the end of the season. His next stop came in January 2017 when he moved to Thailand to play for Sisaket.

Margate announced the signing of Leroy in September 2018. His first appearance was as a sub, coming on after 61 minutes for Frannie Collin, in a 1-0 win at Worthing on 15.9.18. He then started an FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round tie at Concord Rangers on 22.9.18 but was substituted on 74 minutes for Alex Flischer in a 2-0 defeat.

The final appearance of his spell was again as a sub in a goalless draw at home to Harlow on 6.10.18. He came on for Joe Taylor on 63 minutes.

Leroy remained on the non-league circuit, joining Haverhill Rovers as a coach in August 2019. 

He signed a short-term deal with Southern League club Salisbury, then managed by Steve Claridge, in September. Ironically, Leroy came on as a sub at home to Margate in an FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round tie on 5.10.19, which Margate won 4-2.

In November 2019, Leroy signed another short-term deal with National League South club Chelmsford City and left at the end of the season.

He then spent 18 months with Southern League club Nuneaton Borough before joining division rivals Stratford Town in January 2022. Two months later, he joined Hednesford Town. On 1.10.22, Leroy scored a hat-trick in four minutes as Hednesford beat AFC Rushden & Diamonds 5-0. In January 2023, he signed for Ilkeston Town but in August that year was back at Nuneaton.

In January 2024, he signed for Southern League Premier Central club Coalville Town. Two months later, he joined Barwell, of the same division.