Rudy Gestede

He scored his first goal for Cardiff in the 25th minute of the club’s pre-season friendly against Charlton Athletic on 15 July.

On 23 July, Gestede passed his medical and was unveiled as a Cardiff City player three days later.

He made his 50th appearance in a 5–3 victory over Huddersfield Town, putting in a man of the match performance.

Gestede scored his first goal for Cardiff City against Leicester City in the League Cup, before going on to convert from the penalty spot in his side’s 7-6 penalty shootout victory over Leicester.

Gestede's first league goal came on 15 October against Ipswich Town, with the game also marking his first league start for Cardiff.

The following game, however, on 21 October, he suffered an hamstring injury, which meant he was ruled out for several weeks.

He returned in a goalless draw at Millwall on 10 December.

Gestede found his third Cardiff goal in a 3–1 win over Peterborough United.

He would come on and score a penalty in Cardiff City's semi-final victory against Crystal Palace in the League Cup.

He made his competitive debut for Cardiff on 7 August against West Ham United, coming on in the 68th minute in place of Robert Earnshaw, setting up Kenny Miller for the match's only goal.

Gestede's first start came the following game three days later, on 10 August, against Oxford United in the League Cup.

Rudy Philippe Michel Camille Gestede (born 10 October 1988) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Born in Essey-lès-Nancy, Gestede started at youth level at the age of 16, in 2004, where he played for Metz.

A year later, he signed a professional contract with Metz's B Team.

In 2007, he was promoted to play for the first team, whilst still also continuing to play for the B team, but in 2010, he ended his five years playing for the B team when he was sent on loan to Cannes.

After coming through the youth ranks at Metz, Gestede spent a year on loan gaining experience with Cannes, scoring four goals in 22 appearances, before returning to Metz in 2010.

In the summer of 2011, he joined Cardiff City, helping the club to secure promotion to the Premier League.

Gestede joined Football League Championship side Cardiff City on a week-long trial during City's training camp in Seville, Spain in July 2011.

Gestede scored his third goal for Cardiff on 14 February 2012, in a 3–1 win over Peterborough.

In the League Cup Final against Premier League club Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on 26 February, City went down 3–2 on penalties, with Gestede missing one of the Bluebirds' spot-kicks.

Gestede suffered a pre-season injury which kept him out of the first two months of the 2012–13 season.

He made his return on 6 October coming on in the second half against Ipswich Town, where he helped the Bluebirds to come back from a one-goal deficit.

Gestede's first goal of the season came on 15 December in a 2–1 loss against Peterborough United.

In what has been described as his finest performance yet in a Cardiff City shirt, Gestede scored two headers as City beat Nottingham Forest 3–0 at Cardiff City Stadium.

However, he found first team chances limited with Cardiff at the start of 2013–14, prompting a loan move to Blackburn Rovers in 2013.

Gestede played internationally for France at under-19 level before switching international allegiance to Benin, going on to win 11 caps for the national side since his debut in 2013.

He collected a winners' medal as City won the Championship title and were promoted to the Premier League in April 2013.

On 26 November 2013, Gestede joined Blackburn Rovers on loan until the end of 2013 under an emergency loan arrangement after he found his playing time at Cardiff reduced since their promotion to the Premier League.

Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer stated that Gestede was the type of player the team needed to assist talisman Jordan Rhodes in an important season for the club.

In January 2014, he made a permanent transfer to Blackburn and established himself in the first team, forming a prolific partnership with Jordan Rhodes in attack.

On 19 April, Gestede signed a two-year deal keeping him at Cardiff City Stadium until 2014.

Gestede scored his first goal for Rovers on 1 January 2014 against Leeds United via a header in a 2–1 victory.

On 1 January 2014, Gestede signed for the club permanently, on a three-and-a-half-year deal, along with Tom Cairney, who was also on loan at Blackburn at the same time as him.

On 21 April, Gestede scored a first-half hat-trick, against Birmingham City.

He won the Championship Player of the Month Award for April after scoring six goals in the seven games in that month.

On 31 July 2015, after intense speculation, Gestede signed for Premier League club Aston Villa on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £6 million.

He made his debut as a substitute away at Bournemouth, heading the winning goal in a 1–0 victory.

On 22 September 2015, he scored the winner in a 1–0 League Cup victory over archrivals Birmingham City.

On 26 September 2015, he scored a brace in a 3–2 defeat to Liverpool away at Anfield.

On 2 January 2017, Aston Villa accepted a bid from Premier League club Middlesbrough for Gestede, reported to be in the region of £6m.