Derby County added to their midfield ranks with the loan signing of Leicester City’s Andy King on a deal until the end of the 2018/19 season.


The 30-year-old boasts a wealth of experience both in club and international football, and he joins to give Frank Lampard extra options in the centre of the park as his side continues to challenge for promotion in the Sky Bet Championship.

Here, we take a look back at King’s career so far…

Leicester via West London

King’s first move towards a career in professional football came when he joined the Academy at Chelsea as a nine-year-old, but in 2004 he was released at 15, just one year before his current manager led the Blues to their first Premier League title in 2005.

From there, King joined Leicester and he soon became a key player at the King Power Stadium as the club fought their way back from the third tier of English football.

He played all-but-one game in League One as the Foxes stormed to promotion, and he bagged 11 goals in all competitions.

It began a spell of three consecutive seasons where King scored 10+ goals for Leicester, scoring 11 in their first term back in the Championship, before reaching the landmark of 15 league goals during the 2010/11 campaign.

The following season was disrupted by injury, but Leicester soon pushed on to reach incredible heights in the years that followed.

Champion

King scored his 50th Leicester goal in May 2013, but it was his 54th goal almost one year later that made him the highest scoring midfielder in the history of the club.

That goal, which came in a 2-2 draw against Wigan Athletic, helped Leicester to finally secure their place back in the Premier League as they amassed 102 points in the Championship.

He made his 300th appearance for the club against Chelsea as Leicester sensationally secured survival towards the end of the 2014/15 campaign, but the best was yet to come.

Claudio Ranieri led Leicester to an incredible Premier League title in 2015/16, with King playing 25 times in the league and scoring two goals to become the first player to win the title in League One, Championship and the Premier League since the latter competition was formed in 1992.


As Champions, Leicester entered the UEFA Champions League the following season, with King making four appearances as the Foxes reached the quarter-finals.

One of King’s most recent Leicester goals came against Derby in the FA Cup that season, but his role came under threat and by January 2018, he was loaned out to Swansea City.

Key Dragon

King established himself a crucial member of the senior Wales squad after making his debut against Estonia in 2009.

He has gone on to win exactly 50 caps for his country, while he has two international goals to his name; scored against Luxembourg and Finland.

The midfielder was included in Chris Coleman’s squad for Euro 2016, making substitute appearances in the wins against Russia and Belgium, before he played the full 90 minutes of the semi-final defeat to eventual winners Portugal.