The chequered career of Michael Ricketts looks set to go full circleas the former England international considers signing for Walsall for the third time.
Saddlers manager Jimmy Mullen confirmed he had offered the 29-year-old a deal to rejoin the club where he started his career as a trainee and was hopeful Ricketts would say yes before the first team travel to face Blue Square Premier side Burton Albion in this weekend's friendly at the Pirelli Stadium.
If Ricketts agrees, it would be a third stint at the club for the former Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough striker after he returned for a successful loan spell from Oldham Athletic late last year. He scored five goals in 16 appearances and formed a formidable partnership with Tommy Mooney.
Then-Walsall boss Richard Money wanted to sign Ricketts permanently when he was released by the Latics after the season but the striker picked up an injury which curtailed the deal. Since then, he has had unsuccessful trials with Championship side Southampton and Major League Soccersides Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquakes.
Ricketts has been in the footballing wilderness ever since but Mullen is now hoping he will resurrect his career at the Banks’s Stadium.
Ricketts has always been an enigmatic character in the game, having experienced a dramatic rise to the Premiership and an equally alarming decline. The Birmingham-born forward made 90 league appearances for Walsall, scoring 15 times, after signing professional forms in 1996. His performances attracted the attention of Bolton Wanderers and he joined them in July 2000 for £500,000.
He started his Bolton career in impressive style, scoring 24 times as Wanderers won promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs, including the winning goal in the final. He then scored the winning goal at Old Trafford in a 2-1 win over Manchester United in the 2001/2002 Premier League season.
Ricketts continued scoring in his first season in the Premiership, hitting 15 goals by February and this form led to his call-up for England’s friendly against Holland in February 2002. He played 45 minutes in that game but failed to score and his career would never reach the same heights again.
In 2003, he joined Middlesbrough for £3 million but failed to impress and since 2004 he has played for Leeds United, Stoke City, Cardiff City, Burnley, Southend United, Preston North End and Oldham.
His career might be described as on the slide but Ricketts would add experience to Mullen’s strike force. At present, Mullen has Alex Nicholls and Jabo Ibehre, plus trialist Georges Ba and knows he needs to strengthen.
