Nolberto Solano became the first Peruvian to play in England when he came to Newcastle from Boca Juniors in Argentina for £2.76m in August 1998.

Solano is a deadly crosser of the ball, and is also great at running past players down the right flank. He has scored 37 times for Newcastle since 1998, and has been linked with moves to various foreign clubs, including Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

He earnt a good reputation in Peru where he started his career with Alianza Lima before joining Sporting Cristal in 1992. He went on loan to Deportivo Municipal for a year before returning to Sporting. In 1997 he moved across South America to join Boca Juniors of Argentina - and link up wih his idol Diego Maradona.

Solano scored over 50 goals in seven seasons in South America, and capped at the early age of 19 for Peru. Solano has been capped over 40 times for Peru since then, but has got into a spot of bother on a couple of occasions with Sir Bobby Robson because of the length of time he was away on international duty.

In June 2001, he signed a new contract with the Toon which will keep him at St James' Park until the end of the 2005/06 season. If Nobby can keep his place in the side, he can become one of the most popular members of the current squad among the Toon Army.