On This Day in 2005 – England striker Peter Crouch signs for Liverpool

Crouch would score 40 goals across 135 appearances for the Reds, helping them win the FA Cup in 2006.

Peter Crouch celebrates scoring for Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

Peter Crouch joined Liverpool from Southampton for £7million on this day in 2005.

The forward signed a four-year deal with the Champions League holders to link up with England team-mates Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher on Merseyside.

Crouch had scored 12 goals in the previous Premier League season, but it was not enough to keep Southampton up and he subsequently moved to Anfield after Saints’ relegation.

Tottenham academy graduate Crouch would spend three years with Liverpool, scoring 40 goals across 135 appearances and helping them win the FA Cup in 2006.

After previous spells with QPR, Portsmouth and Aston Villa, Crouch had to wait a number of months before he opened his account for new club Liverpool.

Crouch eventually grabbed his maiden goal for the Reds on December 3 against Wigan, but would also net the winner against Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round and score the decisive goal months later in a Community Shield triumph over Chelsea.

A hat-trick against Arsenal was the highlight of his second season at Liverpool, which ended with a substitute appearance in defeat by AC Milan in the Champions League final.

Fernando Torres’ arrival in the summer of 2007 saw Crouch’s opportunities reduced and a year later he departed to Portsmouth in an £11m deal.

Harry Redknapp brought Crouch back to the south-coast club and secured his services again one season later after he took over at Tottenham.

Back at his boyhood club, Crouch helped Spurs qualify for the Champions League for the first time, scoring the winner at Manchester City, and he played a key role in their run to the quarter-finals in 2011 after grabbing a hat-trick in the qualification round against Young Boys.

Crouch would later sign for Stoke, where he would spend eight seasons and score more than 50 times before he finished his career at Burnley.

Upon announcing his retirement in 2019, Crouch had represented England on 42 occasions and scored 22 goals, including netting at the 2006 World Cup. He would later transition into a pundit and become a popular figure on the media circuit.