Louis Saha

Louis Laurent Saha (born August 8, 1978 in Paris, France) is a French international footballer who plays for the English club, Manchester United.

He made his English football debut while on loan at Newcastle United on January 9, 1999, but made the greatest impact of his career when, during 2000, he was transferred to Fulham. During a spell of nearly four years at the club, he scored 63 goals in total.

In January 2004 he moved to Manchester United for £12.8million, and wore the number 9 shirt which had been vacant since the departure of Andy Cole two years earlier. Saha scored 7 goals in 13 Premiership appearances before the end of the season, although it was not enough to prevent the title from slipping away to Arsenal. It appeared that Saha was the ideal partner for Ruud van Nistelrooy.

However, the arrival of Alan Smith (from Leeds United for £6million) and then Wayne Rooney (from Everton for £20million) pushed Saha down the pecking order and he was linked with a move away from the club less than a year after arriving. In addition his 2004/05 season was badly hit by a succession of injuries and 2005/06 has begun with Saha again unavailable for selection due to minor knocks. Just as he was about to return to full fitness he suffered another injury in training in October 2005. Saha has silenced his critics with a series of strong performances since his return following an injury crisis at [[Manchester United.

An up-and-coming member of the French national team, Saha was a part of the squad at the 2004 European Football Championship. He is a friend of national teammate Thierry Henry.

Last update : 09-02-2006 23:41

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