Born in the Senegalese town of Bignona, Ibrahima Sonko's career began in France after he and his family moved there when he was only six months old.

Saint-Etienne was his first club before a move to Grenoble followed. Some strong performances at the back were enough to persuade Brentford to bring him over to England in 2002.

After 91 appearances and nine goals for the Bees, he left to join Reading on a Bosman transfer in 2004. It was there that his career began to take off and he was nicknamed 'Superman' by Royals fans.

In four years at the Madjeski Stadium, Sonko played 136 games and scored eight goals. He then joined Stoke last summer and made a total of 16 appearances for the Potters last season before joining the Tigers on loan for the 2009/10 campaign this week.

Sonko is also a Senegal international, although the early stages of his international career were a little confusing. He represented Senegal at Under-23 level but having not played for the senior side, he was still eligible to play for France having moved there at such an early age and announced that he would be willing to do so should a call-up be forthcoming before a senior Senegal call.

Senegal won the 'race' and included Sonko in their squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations. He finally made his debut in a 3-1 win against Namibia.

Sonko isn't the only member of his family to have made a career out of football. Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna is his cousin, while another cousin, Daniel Bocande, is a former FC Metz midfielder.