Dean Sturridge became an instant hero with Wolves fans when he joined the club on a one month loan from Leicester City in November 2001. He scored on his debut at Wimbledon and then, in the following match, scored a hat-trick to mark his first appearance at Molineux.

For a snip of just £350,000 (plus £25, 000 in add-ons), Dean signed a permanent contract on Christmas Eve that year.

The Birmingham-born striker began his career as a trainee as Derby Country where he played for almost ten years before moving across the East Midlands to Leicester City for £350,000 in January 2001. However, with the departure of Peter Taylor and the arrival of Dave Bassett, Dean realised his first team opportunities were going to be limited.

Dean made 27 League appearances for Wolves during his first season and scoring his highest ever tally - a total of 21 goals.

The impressive feat has made him a favourite with the fans and he was runner-up in the Player of the Season awards for 2001/02, coming a close second to Alex Rae.

Dean suffered with injuries in the early part of 2002/03. He sustained a deep gash to the leg during pre-season which kept him out of the start of the new campaign and was later troubled with a cyst behind a knee and hamstring problems.

The form of Kenny Miller, Nathan Blake and George Ndah meant that Dean struggled to find a place in the starting line-up as he returned to fitness but, the striker still managed to net ten goals in Wolves' promotion winning season. He played the last 15 minutes of the play-off final, coming on as a substitute for Kenny Miller.

Dean made only two starts for Wolves during the Premiership campaign that followed and was sent out on loan to Sheffield United - but injury marred his season. After playing in the opening game of 2004/05 he was forced to return to the treatment room with a persistent back and hamstring problem which continued to limit his appearances.