Black History Month: Emile Heskey – Our Leicester-Born Striker

From the streets of Leicester to Wembley glory and the world stage, Emile Heskey’s journey began at Filbert Street, where a teenage talent developed into one of English football’s most feared forwards.

2026-10-14T09:00+01:00

by Sam Stevens

Published

14 Oct, 2026

Black History Month: Emile Heskey – Our Leicester-Born Striker

From the streets of Leicester to Wembley glory and the world stage, Emile Heskey’s journey began at Filbert Street, where a teenage talent developed into one of English football’s most feared forwards.

Sam Stevens

2026-10-14T09:00+01:00

Black History Month: Emile Heskey – Our Leicester-Born Striker

From the streets of Leicester to Wembley glory and the world stage, Emile Heskey’s journey began at Filbert Street, where a teenage talent developed into one of English football’s most feared forwards.

Sam Stevens

2026-10-14T09:00+01:00

Black History Month: Emile Heskey – Our Leicester-Born Striker

From the streets of Leicester to Wembley glory and the world stage, Emile Heskey’s journey began at Filbert Street, where a teenage talent developed into one of English football’s most feared forwards.

Sam Stevens

2026-10-14T09:00+01:00

Black History Month: Emile Heskey – Our Leicester-Born Striker

From the streets of Leicester to Wembley glory and the world stage, Emile Heskey’s journey began at Filbert Street, where a teenage talent developed into one of English football’s most feared forwards.

Sam Stevens

2026-10-14T09:00+01:00

For the third instalment of our Black History Month series, we look back at the career of a homegrown striker who made his mark in a Leicester City shirt, enjoyed success at the highest level and never lost sight of his connection to the Club that gave him his start.

Born in Leicester on 11 January, 1978, Emile joined us as a trainee in July 1994. He had already represented England at Under-16 schools level. In March 1995, he made his First Team debut away to Queens Park Rangers.

With injuries and illness depleting the squad, Heskey was thrust into the action, becoming our youngest-ever Premier League player at the time. By the following season, his prolific form at youth level and an impressive senior breakthrough had earned him a professional contract.

The arrival of Martin O’Neill proved pivotal. Heskey became a regular as we secured promotion through the play-offs in 1996, before announcing himself as a major talent in the top flight.

His 12-goal return in 96/97 included one of the most memorable moments of his early career: a late Wembley equaliser against Middlesbrough in the League Cup Final, helping set up our eventual triumph in a replay at Hillsborough.

Heskey earned an England Under-21s call-up and finished runner-up to David Beckham in the PFA Young Player of the Year voting. His game offered far more than goals alone. He could lead the line, stretch defences and create space for team-mates, making him a valuable presence even when the goals were harder to come by.

By the turn of the millennium, his influence had extended to the international stage. A series of substitute appearances for England under Kevin Keegan preceded a first start against Argentina, in which he earned Man of the Match recognition.

He then helped Leicester lift another League Cup in 2000, securing his second winner’s medal in the competition, as the Blue Army purred over the prospect of a Heskey-Collymore striking partnership.

However, soon after a 5-2 victory over Sunderland which provided a glimpse into a future which never happened, Liverpool came calling. After scoring 46 goals for us in all competitions across 186 appearances, Heskey joined the Anfield club for £11M in March 2000, the third-highest fee ever payed by a British club at the time.

His departure was perhaps the first sign that a halcyon era was coming to a close, as we began to struggle in the Premier League under new Manager Peter Taylor and eventually suffered relegation. Heskey, though, scored 22 goals in all competitions in 00/01 as Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup, also finishing third in the Premier League under Gérard Houllier. It was a campaign which established Emile among the country’s leading forwards and strengthened his position with England, also scoring during an iconic 5-1 win in Germany.

Never forgetting his roots, Emile was one of those who stood up to help the Club during financial issues in 2002, two years on from leaving us. Further spells with Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa followed, the latter bringing a reunion with ex-Foxes Manager O’Neill. Heskey continued to represent England, too, under Sven-Göran Eriksson, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello, finishing his international career with 62 caps.

Although missing the 2006 World Cup, he nevertheless bookended that tournament with appearances in 2002 and 2010. After playing in Australia for Newcastle Jets in the autumn of his career, he returned to England with Bolton Wanderers in December 2014, scoring on his debut in a Boxing Day derby victory over Blackburn Rovers.

That same year, he also returned to Leicester in an ambassadorial role, before later enjoying a spell as our Head of Women's Football Development, working closely with LCFC Women. More recently, through the England Elite Coach Programme, he's been involved with the youth pathway at the Football Association.

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