Nick Blackman

Nicholas Alexander Blackman (born 11 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Derby County. He can also play as a Winger. Born in Salford, he started his career at Macclesfield Town before moving to Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. After 3 years at Blackburn Rovers he was sold to Sheffield United for an undisclosed sum. After scoring 11 goals in 6 months at Sheffield United, he signed a  3 ¹⁄₂-year contract with then-Premier League club Reading. He has also spent time on loan at Blackpool, Oldham Athletic, Motherwell and Aberdeen.

Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Blackman attended Manchester United Academies for five years from the age of eight, and also spent time at Bury and Preston North End academies. He attended King David High School followed by Phillips High School in Manchester. At the age of 13 Blackman took part in the Maccabiah Games in Israel as part of a British schools football team, qualifying through him being Jewish. According to Blackman, he is eligible to represent England, Barbados, the Netherlands, Poland or Israel at international level—Barbados through his father, the Netherlands and Poland through his maternal grandparents, and Israel through "family members".

Macclesfield Town

Blackman was signed by Macclesfield Town in Summer 2006. After a string of impressive displays for the youth team Blackman signed his first professional contract at Macclesfield on 8 March 2007. After making his league debut against Accrington Stanley his hopes of regular first team football were dashed by a pre-season injury that kept him out of action for several months.

Blackman scored his debut goal for Macclesfield in a 1–1 home draw with Dagenham & Redbridge on 23 November 2007, when after coming on as a substitute, Blackman scored in the 90th minute. Blackman made a total of 12 appearances, mostly as a substitute, for the Silkmen, scoring one goal.

Blackburn Rovers

Blackman joined Premier League club Blackburn Rovers on 12 January 2009, after impressing in a trial, for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year contract. Blackman scored two goals in his first two games for the club's reserve team.

Blackpool (loan)

On 3 March, Blackman joined Championship club Blackpool on loan initially for one month. Blackman made his debut later that same day as a 65th-minute substitute in a 0–1 home loss to Burnley at Bloomfield Road. After two substitution appearances, Blackman scored on his full debut, a 2–2 draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on 10 March.

Oldham (loan)

On 20 August 2009, Blackman joined Oldham Athletic on a month's loan. Two days later, Blackman made his Latics debut in a 2–2 draw versus Swindon Town, playing the full 90 minutes. His first goal for the club came on 29 August when Blackman curled a shot into the net from the edge of the area for Oldham's only goal in a 1–1 draw against Brentford. His loan period was extended until January 2010 after which Blackman returned to Blackburn.

Motherwell and Aberdeen (loan)

Blackman joined Scottish Premier League club Motherwell on a six-month loan on 13 August 2010 and scored 10 goals in 18 games in total which, included a hat trick in a 4–0 win over St Johnstone in November 2010. On 13 January 2011, former Motherwell manager Craig Brown signed Blackman for Aberdeen on loan for six-months.

Return to Blackburn Rovers

Blackman returned to Blackburn Rovers at the end of his loan spell. During the Premier League Asia Trophy match against Kitchee of Hong Kong, Blackman came off the bench for Blackburn Rovers winning and converting a penalty in a 3–0 win.

Sheffield United

Blackman signed for Sheffield United, on 10 August 2012, a two-year-deal for an undisclosed fee after turning down offers from Championship clubs. Blackman scored his first goal for the Blades with his first touch in a League Cup game against Burton Albion at Bramall Lane on 11 August 2012. Blackman played regularly for the Blades throughout the first half of the season, making 33 appearances and scoring 14 goals by the end of January. By this time however Blackman was attracting interest from other clubs and was the subject of bids from both Crystal Palace and Reading and despite United accepting offers from both clubs, Blackman rejected a move to Palace.

Reading

On 30 January 2013, Blackman signed for Premier League side Reading for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £1.2m, on a three-and-a-half-year contract. Blackman made his debut on 2 February, replacing Pavel Pogrebnyak in the 72nd minute of a 2–1 win against Sunderland. Blackman scored the first Reading goal of the 2015–2016 Championship season in a 2–1 away defeat to Birmingham.

Derby County

On 6 January 2016, it was announced that Blackman had signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Derby County for a reported fee of over £3 million. He scored his first goal for the club, a penalty, in a 2–0 win over Cardiff City on 27 September 2016.