Scott Sinclair, the English forward who saw more loans than a struggling library, was born on 25 March 1989, and graced this beautiful game primarily as a left winger. He stands 1.77m (5ft 9in) tall and tips the scales at 70kg (11st), making him hardly an imposing sight, but then again, the job of a forward isn't to scare people – unless we're talking defenders.
In December 2004, during the innocent days of youth, Sinclair embarked on his professional journey with Bristol Rovers, a happy little place in League Two. After fluttering on the main stage for just a couple of times in his debut season (2004 - 2005), he eventually tightened the screws and appeared 20 times in the 2022 - 2023 season, netting five times in the process.
Then Chelsea happened. The Premier League club, known for its nurturing environment (sarcasm intended), snatched Sinclair from Bristol in June 2005 for a cool £200k. His stint at Chelsea, marked by make-or-break seasons (2006 - 2009), resulted in a grand total of five league appearances. Fantastic, right?
Between 2007 and 2010, Sinclair became familiar with packing as he was loaned out to good ol' Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic. Regardless of the badge, apart from a couple of appearances and a rare goal, Sinclair largely mastered the art of warming the bench.
Come August 2010, he pulled up his socks and hopped over to Swansea City (this time they even paid £1.5m for him). Between 2010 - 2013, Sinclair made a commendable 82 appearances and scored a handsome 28 goals.
A more illustrious chapter commenced in August 2012, when Sinclair stepped onto the grand stage of Manchester City for a somewhat princely sum of £6.2m. There, he was an 'important' squad player enjoying 13 league outings over two (non-consecutive) seasons.
August 2013 saw Sinclair playing for West Bromwich Albion, of course, on loan, where he tasted action in just eight league games.
After yet another loan period, this time at Aston Villa, Sinclair made the deal permanent with the Villains in July 2015, costing them £2.5m. As a Villan, Sinclair enjoyed 36 league appearances and 3 measly goals over two seasons.
It was not until August 2016 that our peripatetic hero found a semi-permanent home away from England when he transferred to Celtic for £3.5m. Sinclair's most productive years cane here, between 2016 and 2020, with 105 appearances and 40 goals.
The revolving door began to spin yet again in January 2020, when Sinclair transferred to Preston North End for an undisclosed fee (giving a rest to our speculations for once). While at Preston, he made 78 appearances and scored 12 times over a couple of seasons.
Now, we reach June 2022, where evidence suggests that Sinclair returned to Bristol Rovers for another round, only to disappear into a murky unknown by 2025. A fitting end, wouldn't you say, for a player always on the move?
