2012/13

Joined West Ham United on loan from Liverpool on 30 August 2012...Made his West Ham United debut in a 3-0 home Barclays Premier League victory over Fulham on 1 September 2012, playing a role in two of the three goals...Suffered a hamstring injury on his debut, ruling him out for a month...Returned to action as a substitute in the 2-1 Barclays Premier League victory at Queens Park Rangers on 1 October 2012...Scored his maiden West Ham United goal in the 3-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on 25 November 2012...Suffered a knee injury in the 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at Manchester United on 28 November 2012, ruling him out of the Christmas and New Year fixtures...Returned to the Hammers squad for the Barclays Premier League game at Fulham on 30 January 2013, and scored his first Boleyn Ground goal three days later in the 1-0 victory over Swansea City...Blasted home a penalty in the 3-2 league defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on 25 February 2013 for his third goal of the season...Scored for the third consecutive home game by netting twice in a 3-1 Barclays Premier League win over West Bromwich Albion on 30 March 2013...Continued his goalscoring form by notching in the away games against Southampton and Manchester City, and was honoured at the Club's Awards Dinner by being named as the Chairmen's Player of the Year.

International career

Made his senior England debut in a friendly international with France on 17 November 2010...Scored his first senior international goal in a friendly with Ghana at Wembley on 29 March 2011...Named in England's squad for the 2012 UEFA European Championship finals, where he impressed by scoring a trademark header in a 3-2 group-stage victory over Sweden.

Before West Ham United

Burst into the Newcastle United first-team at the age of 17, making his first-team debut as a replacement for future Hammer Nolberto Solano in a UEFA Cup victory over Palermo on 2 November 2006 - an appearance that made him the youngest-ever player to represent Newcastle in Europe...Scored his maiden first-team goal past FIFA World Cup winner Gianluigi Buffon in a friendly win over Juventus in July 2007...Embarked on a six-month loan spell with Championship side Preston North End in August 2007, scoring once in 12 Championship appearances...Returned to St James' Park and forced his way into the Magpies starting XI, scoring on his full home debut with a towering header against West Ham in a 2-2 Premier League draw on 10 January 2009...Came into his own during the 2009/10 season, combining with Kevin Nolan to shoot Newcastle to the Championship title and promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt...Finished the 2009/10 campaign as Newcastle United's top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions voted into the Championship Team of the Year...On Newcastle United's return to the Premier League, netted a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Aston Villa on 22 August 2010 and eleven goals in just 19 league appearances...Completed a record-breaking £35m move to Anfield on 31 January 2010, making him the most-expensive English footballer in history...Collected a 2012 League Cup winner's medal as Liverpool beat Cardiff City at Wembley...Returned to Wembley to score the winning goal against Everton in the all-Merseyside FA Cup semi-final on 14 April 2012...Appeared as a 54th-minute substitute in the 2012 FA Cup final, scoring ten minutes later as Liverpool were edged out 2-1 by Chelsea at Wembley.