SAM BALDOCK

Born: 15 March 1989, Aylesbury, England
Former clubs: MK Dons

Fast, elusive and with a sharp eye for goal, Sam Baldock has been likened to West Ham United great Tony Cottee by Martin Allen - the man who gave him his big break at first club MK Dons.

Baldock came through the ranks at stadium:mk before making his first-team debut at the age of just 16 in December 2005.

Since then, the young forward has come to the attention of the nation with his prolific goal-scoring, leading to his big move to West Ham United in August 2011.

2011/12

Joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract on 26 August 2011...Handed the No7 shirt....Made his debut as a second-half substitute in the 0-0 draw at Millwall on 17 September 2011...Made his full West Ham United debut in the 1-0 home npower Championship defeat by Ipswich Town on 27 September 2011...Scored his first West Ham United goals by netting twice in the 4-0 home npower Championship win over Blackpool on 15 October 2011...Scored twice in 3-2 home npower Championship victory over Leicester City on 29 October 2011...Scored in the 2-0 npower Championship success at Hull City on 5 November 2011...Suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-1 home npower Championship win over Derby County on 26 November, ruling him out for a month...Missed a penalty in the 1-0 FA Cup third-round defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on 8 January 2012...Totalled 22 npower Championship appearances, including ten starts, and five goals.

International career

Appeared twice as a substitute for England at the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals in Egypt.

Before West Ham United

Joined MK Dons as a trainee in July 2004...Made his MK Dons debut as a 16-year-old in a Football League Trophy tie against Colchester United on 20 December 2005...Established himself in the MK Dons' first team during the 2007/08 season, appearing in the Football League Trophy final victory over Grimsby Town at Wembley in March 2008 and helping the club to win the League Two title...Bagged ten goals in 28 appearances in all competitions in 2009/10...Netted 14 times in 34 games in 2010/11, including a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory at Colchester on 12 March 2011...Helped MK Dons reach the League One Play-Offs in 2010/11 but, despite another goal, they were eliminated by Peterborough United in the semi-finals...Netted six times in six matches at the start of the 2011/12 season, including a hat-trick in a 6-2 League One victory over Chesterfield and one in a 4-0 Carling Cup first-round win over Premier League Norwich City.

Any other business

Has a younger brother called George who is contracted to MK Dons.