| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luke Moore | ||
| Date of birth | 13 February 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Swansea City | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2003 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2008 | Aston Villa | 87 | (14) |
| 2003–2004 | → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 6 | (4) |
| 2008 | → West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2008–2011 | West Bromwich Albion | 47 | (5) |
| 2010 | → Derby County (loan) | 13 | (4) |
| 2011– | Swansea City | 20 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005 | England U21 | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Luke Moore (born 13 February 1986 in Birmingham) is an English football striker who currently plays for Swansea City. Moore has represented England at U21 level and is the younger brother of fellow former professional footballer, Stefan Moore.
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As a youngster, Moore played for Romulus and Tame Valley Primary School. As a member of Aston Villa's youth academy, he was prohibited from appearing for his secondary school, Hodge Hill, but nevertheless appeared in "a couple of cup games" for the school.[1] Moore is the younger brother of the former Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa striker Stefan Moore. Together they were a crucial part of the Villa FA Youth Cup winning team of 2002. In December 2003 he was loaned to Wycombe Wanderers, who had failed in their approach for him earlier in the season.[2] Moore made his Wycombe début in a 1–1 draw against Notts County on 13 December 2003.[3] He only had to wait until his next game, against Bournemouth to score his début goal in a 2–0 victory.[3] On 3 January 2004 he scored his first career hat-trick in a 4–1 home win over Grimsby Town.[3]
Upon his return to Aston Villa, Moore made his first-team debut, as a substitute in a 2–2 draw against Birmingham City.[4] His first senior goal for Villa came in the 2–0 victory against Middlesbrough on 5 March 2005. Less than a year later, on 5 February 2006, Moore scored his first Premiership hat-trick for Villa, again against Middlesbrough.
Despite Villa signing additional forwards such as Kevin Phillips and Milan Baroš in the summer of 2005, Moore kept his place in the first-team squad, starting some games and coming on from the bench in others. The departure of Phillips and the injury to Baroš ensured his place as a starter for the first team at the beginning of the Premiership season
Moore sustained a serious injury to his right shoulder in a game against Chelsea, an injury which had been persistent during his career. Moore travelled to the USA to undergo surgery in October 2006, with Cleveland Browns' head team physician Anthony Miniaci carrying out the procedure, following advice from Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner.[5]
Moore returned from his shoulder injury on 9 April 2007, coming on as a substitute for Shaun Maloney against Wigan Athletic at Villa Park. On 14 April 2007, having again come on as a substitute, he scored with a header in a 3–1 win against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. It was his first senior goal since the 2–0 victory over Charlton Athletic on 23 September 2006. Moore came on against Bolton Wanderers in the last Villa game of the season to equalise in the 83rd minute, earning Villa a draw.
On 25 July 2007, he scored a hat trick for Aston Villa in the friendly match with Toronto FC. In January 2008 Villa manager Martin O'Neill revealed that Rangers manager Walter Smith had contacted him about possibly signing Moore. O'Neill quoted Rangers with a price of £3.5 million for Moore.[6] On 22 February, Moore joined rivals West Bromwich Albion on loan until the end of the season, signing a deal to join permanently for £3.5m in the summer of 2008.[7]
Moore made his Albion debut on 23 February 2008, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 home defeat to Hull City.[8] He received the first red card of his career in a 4–1 home defeat to Leicester City on 15 March 2008.[9] On 28 May 2008, he completed his transfer to the newly promoted Premiership side for a fee of £3 million.[10]
Moore scored his first goal for West Brom on 21 December 2008 against Manchester City. In the 2009–10 Championship season, Moore opened his account with a brace in the 3–2 victory at Peterborough United, 18 August.[3] However, Moore's scoring record after was poor, and it was widely expected that he would leave West Bromwich Albion during the 2010 summer transfer window.
On 1 September 2010, Moore was not included in West Bromwich Albion's 25-man squad for the new season therefore deeming him surplus to requirements at the Hawthorns, a move which saw him join Football League Championship side Derby County later that same month on a 29 day loan deal.[11] Moore was primarily used as a substitute in at the start of his spell at The Rams, 3 of his 4 appearances coming as substitute, but impressed enough for Derby boss Nigel Clough to want to extent his spell at Pride Park.[12]
The same day as Clough announced his desire to retain Moore's services, he scored his first goal for the club, on his second start, with the opener in a 3–2 victory at Doncaster Rovers. The next week, it was announced his Derby loan had been extended for a further month,[13] the loan was further extended to the end of December.[14]
Derby manager Nigel Clough was keen to extend his loan until the end of the season in December,[15] but after scoring in a 5-2 defeat against Nottingham Forest in the East Midlands derby game at the City Ground,[16] Moore returned to West Brom stating that he wanted to keep his options open for the January transfer window.[17]
Moore scored 4 times in 13 league appearances for The Rams of which 9 were starts.[3]
After a frustrating spell at West Brom, Moore signed for Swansea City on a two-and-a-half year deal on 7 January 2011 for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be a free transfer. Moore made his Swansea City debut against Colchester United on January 8, 2011 in the FA Cup. Moore scored his first Swansea City goal against Doncaster Rovers on February 19, 2011.[18]
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