dcfc.co.uk takes a look back at the career of in form forward Nick Blackman after the 26-year-old became Derby County's second signing of the January transfer window...

FACT FILE

Salford born, Nick Blackman’s career into football began within the famed Manchester United academy from eight-years-old, where he learned and developed his game over a five-year period.During that time, the promising forward also enhanced his education at the academies of Bury and Preston North End.Uniquely, Blackman from a very young age was eligible to play for England, Barbados, the Netherlands, Poland and Israel at international level, but as of yet he has not turned out for any of those five nations.Blackman signed his first contract in the summer of 2006 at Macclesfield Town, before signing his first professional deal a year later following a string of impressive displays in the Silkmen’s academy.The 6ft 2in forward made his debut at the age of 17 in a game against Accrington Stanley towards the end of the 2006/07 season, but suffered an injury soon after that meant he did not feature until November 2007 for Macclesfield.Upon his return, Blackman netted his first goal for the Silkmen in what was only his second appearance for the club in a 1-1 draw with Dagenham & Redbridge.Over the course of that season, the young forward made a further 10 appearances in which his promising ability saw the then Barclays Premier League side Blackburn Rovers secure his services.It was towards the latter of this spell that he encounter Paul Clement for the first time as the Derby Head Coach spent a brief spell as Assistant Coach at Ewood Park, before moving on to work with Carlo Ancelotti at Paris St Germain.After enjoying a strong spell with their youth sides, Blackman enhanced his footballing education with a number of loan spells – first with Blackpool, before moving to Oldham Athletic and then crossing the border for stints with Motherwell and Aberdeen.His spell with Motherwell was particularly fruitful as he netted 10 goals in 15 starts for the Steelmen, including his first professional hat trick in a 4-0 win over St Johnstone.From there, Blackman secured the next permanent move of his career as he sealed a switch to the then League 1 side Sheffield United on a two-year deal in the summer of 2012.It would prove to be a very brief spell, however, as the forward began to show a keen eye for the back of the net at Bramall Lane.A near ever-present, Blackman scored 14 goals in all competitions in 33 outings for the Blades – form which naturally began to attract the attention of a number of clubs both in the Championship and Barclays Premier League.After a long pursuit, Reading, then in the Premier League, eventually secured his services for a fee believed to be in the region of £1.2 million and he signed a three-and-a-half year contract in January 2013.Although he did not score for the rest of the season for the Royals, Blackman became a regular feature in the Reading matchday squad.His first full season, in 2013/14, saw him score four goals in 31 outings, which was topped up with another five goals in 43 appearances the following year as he helped the Royals reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.It is the 2015/16 season in which Blackman has really come into his own again and became a regular on the score sheet once again.In 28 appearances over the first half of the current campaign, the forward netted 13 goals in 28 appearances – 10 of which came in a ruthless 11 game spell.Blackman netted his final goal for the Royals to help them return to winning ways in the final game of 2015 in a 1-0 win over Bristol City.> Tweets by @ dcfcofficial