Height: 6ft 3in
Weight: 80Kg
Date Of Birth: Feb 2nd, 1968
Place Of Birth: Leeds, England
Nationality: English
Date Signed: Oct 1998
Middlesbrough Shirt Number: 10
Middlesbrough Club Record: 94 games; 20 goals
Bought By: Bryan Robson
Sold By: Steve McClaren
Transfer Fee In: £3 million from Benfica
Transfer Fee Out: unreleased to Leicester City
Previous Clubs: Doncaster Rovers (Eng), Sheffield United (Eng), Leeds United (Eng), Sheffield United (Eng),
Benfica (Por), Middlesbrough (Eng), Leicester City (Eng).
International Honours: 3 caps for England (B), 3 caps for England.
Club Honours: None
Boro ended Deane's Portugese break at Graeme Souness' Benfica when he signed a 3 and a half year deal. Upon signing Brian said about the prospect of playing on Teeside:
''I've played up here a few times and seen the atmosphere that's generated, and I've always enjoyed myself.''
The size of the fee surprised many people, not least those at Sheffield United who had seen Deane go to Benfica in a cut price deal earlier the same year. Started with Doncaster Rovers before moving onto Sheffield United where he came to prominence in a partnership with Tony Agana. Brian progressed onto England level after scoring 20 goals in two successive seasons. Struggling to make an impact at Leeds, he was switched to the wing when Tony Yeboah arrived and enjoyed more success in his new-found position.
Hailed as a conquering hero when surprisingly returning to Sheffield, Brian performed as though he never been away. Many powerful front running performances assisted a run to the top of the table and he won the Nationwide League's quickest goal award for September 97 for a 17 second strike at Oxford United.
Has made quite an impression at the Riverside scoring many vital goals including one in the 3-2 defeat of Manchester United (a win that was not reproduced by any English club until the Arsenal beat them in the charity sheild) and the winner in Boro's 100 year celebration game agianst Southampton. Even so many fans still feel it was not right for Robson to buy Deane as he has scored many vital goals agianst the Boro, for instance the goal that sent us down in 1997.
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