Julian was that keen to sign for Leeds that he broke off a holiday to return to England to persuade manager Kevin Blackwell he would be a good investment.

The former Aston Villa and Leicester striker signed a two-year contract on July 1st at Elland Road after he turned down the offer of a new contract with Coventry City, who he joined from Villa in July 2001 as part of the deal that saw Mustapha Hadji move in the opposite direction.

A former England under-21 international, Blackwell believes he offers Leeds a new dimension:

"He is a proven scorer in the First Division and offers us something we have not had for a while - lightning quick pace.

"I spoke to Eric Black (former Coventry boss) about him and he said Julian was one of the reasons Coventry did as well as they did last season.

"He had a strong finish to the season and we will just be happy for him to carry on where he left off."

Joachim's return to form last season will have come as a relief to the player himself after spending most of his time with the Sky Blues injured. An ankle injury put him out for most of the 2002/03 season and his first two seasons saw him play in just 27 league games.

He helped an England under-18 side, also containing Liverpool's Robbie Fowler, to the European Youth Championship in 1993.