Anthony Le Tallec

Midfield

Position: Midfield
Squad No: 77
Date of birth: 03/10/1984
Birth place: Hennebont, France
Former clubs: Le Havre
Transfer Fee: Signed in a joint deal with Florent Sinama Pongolle for around £5m

LE TALLEC returned to Anfield in January 2005, after cutting short a one year loan spell at French side St Etienne.

Following a horrendous run of injuries at the club, the return of the youngster gave manager Rafael Benitez more options for the rest of the 2004-05 campaign - in which Le Tallec played fleeting roles - most notably against Juventus in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, in which he impressed.

For an 18-year-old arriving at a club in a different country to his own, a lot of expectation was placed on him before he had even kicked a ball.

Many Liverpool supporters had been aware of Le Tallec (along with his compatriot Florent Sinama-Pongolle) for some time as they were in fact signed by the club back in 2001, shortly after both players had starred in the finals of the European U16 Championships, where France reached the final and Le Tallec was runner-up in the Player-of-the-Tournament award.

Having been snapped up by Gerard Houllier, both players remained in France for the next two years to continue their education, footballing-and-otherwise, spending 2002-03 playing in the first team for Le Havre in the French Championnat.

Le Tallec is a midfielder of precocious ability who has the versatility to play centrally in midfield or just behind the attack.

As Rafael Benitez continued to ring the changes at Anfield, Le Tallec went on to spend the entire 2005/06 campaign on loan at Sunderland.