Darren Ambrose became the second signing of the summer when he signed as a free agent on a two year deal.

His contract had run out at Charlton Athletic and Neil Warnock was quick to snap him up for free with a host of other clubs also chasing his signature.

He started his career at Ipswich in 2001 and played over 30 games before attracting the attention of then Premiership outfit Newcastle United, who paid in the region of £1m for him in 2003.

His tenure on Tyneside would see him score five goals in 37 games and play under the stewardship of Graeme Souness and Sir Bobby Robson.

In between 2003-2005 Ambrose made 10 appearances for the England U21's and with first team chances being limited at Newcastle he returned to the South East with Charlton's Alan Curbishley winning the race for his signature.

In is first season he scored three goals as the Addicks finished 13th in the league but in the next season Ambrose played under three different managers in less than a year, a season that would eventually end in relegation from the country's top flight.

An unsuccessful season in the 2007/08 saw Ambrose's team fail to qualify for the play offs with an 11th finish in the league, but he still managed find the net nine times.

The 25 year-old joined his former club, Ipswich, on loan in November of last season but after making nine appearances he returned to the Valley in January.

Just like 2007, Ambrose felt the pain of relegation, this time not from the Premiership but to League One after the Robins finished bottom of the Championship.

During his four year stay at the South East London outfit he made 112 appearances scoring 13 goals.

Amazingly he managed to better that record in just one season at Selhurst Park when he scored 20 times, including one in the final game of the season at Hillsborough to help Palace stave off relegation.

His incredible form expectedly lead to a lot of interest for his services throughout the closed season, and with Palace struggling with its financial uncertainties, it looked like the club would cash in on him to help keep afloat.

That was until the arrival of the new owners, who immediately set about stalling his proposed move to QPR and instead offered him a new three-year contract, which he signed in July.