Peter Crouch: Stoke City striker signs for Burnley, Sam Vokes moves to Potters
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Stoke City striker Peter Crouch has signed for Burnley until the end of the season as part of a deal that sees Sam Vokes go the other way.
Crouch, who turned 38 on Wednesday, has made 462 Premier League appearances for six different clubs, scoring 108 goals.
Vokes, 29, has joined Championship club Stoke for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
"I feel that the older I get, the more hungry I am," said former England forward Crouch.
"You can sort of see the end, but I still feel fit, I train every single day and do everything the lads do, and I want to be involved with every single game.
"I've got the will to succeed and prove people wrong - I feel like I have been proving people wrong my whole career.
"The moment I stop enjoying it is the moment to knock it on the head. I'll be doing as well as I can this year."
Clarets boss Sean Dyche said: "We know he's a good character and he still has a desire. The main thing for me is having motivated people."
Meanwhile, Potters full-back Erik Pieters has joined French side Amiens on loan until the end of the season.
The 30-year-old, who joined Stoke in 2013, has made 23 appearances for the Championship side this campaign.
Crouch was part of the Stoke squad relegated from the Premier League last season.
He has also played in the top flight for Tottenham, Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool and Portsmouth.
Vokes, who played for Wales at Euro 2016, has been at Burnley since July 2012 and has this season started 10 league games for the Clarets, who are 17th in the Premier League.
Stoke manager Nathan Jones said: "Sam is a player of real pedigree, he has been promoted from this level and he's an experienced international and Premier League player.
"To get it done is something totally different to anything we have and we think he's a marquee player for this level."
Burnley announced Crouch's arrival at Turf Moor with a video featuring a robot, external - paying homage to Crouch's famous celebration.
Most headers & most sub appearances - Crouch's Premier League record
Crouch was handed his Premier League debut at Aston Villa by Graham Taylor - at the age of 21. He started in a 3-2 defeat against Bolton in March 2002 and his team-mates included Peter Schmeichel, Steve Staunton and Gareth Barry.
Crouch's club-by-club Premier League career | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Games played | Minutes played | Goals | Assists |
Stoke City | 202 | 12690 | 45 | 18 |
Liverpool | 85 | 4575 | 22 | 12 |
Tottenham | 73 | 4231 | 12 | 12 |
Portsmouth | 38 | 3361 | 11 | 5 |
Aston Villa | 37 | 1755 | 6 | 5 |
Southampton | 27 | 1780 | 12 | 6 |
Stats provided by Opta |
A veteran of 42 England caps, Crouch has scored the most headed goals in the Premier League and made 152 substitute appearances - the most in Premier League history.
Most headed goals in Premier League | ||
---|---|---|
Player | Premier League goals | Headed goals |
Peter Crouch (Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Tottenham, Stoke) | 108 | 53 |
Alan Shearer (Blackburn, Newcastle) | 260 | 46 |
Dion Dublin (Man Utd, Coventry, Aston Villa) | 111 | 45 |
Stats provided by Opta |
Of the 28 players to score 100 Premier League goals or more, Crouch is the oldest. He brought up his century playing for Stoke against Everton on 1 February 2017 - two days after turning 36.
He has also scored for each of the six clubs he has played for in the Premier League.
Only Craig Bellamy - for Coventry, Newcastle, Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester City and Cardiff - has scored for more.
Crouch has scored more Premier League goals (108) than Dennis Bergkamp (87), Fernando Torres (85), and Cristiano Ronaldo (84).
The best of Peter Crouch
Crouch has become the star of his own BBC 5 live podcast this season, featuring anecdotes from his life as a professional footballer.
Here are some of the best bits: