A FORMER Premier League player has swapped the football pitch for the police squad.
And he looks completely unrecognisable as an officer of the law – five years on from hanging up his boots.
Tommy Wright, 47, played as a striker for Leicester between 2001 and 2006 – including one season in the Premier League.
And he also featured for a host of other clubs including Barnsley, Darlington and Aberdeen.
Wright, who also received caps for England‘s U19 and U20 sides, then went on to manage Darlington between 2017 and 2019.
But now he has begun a completely new career as a Leicestershire police officer – qualifying through the academy in 2020.
And pictures show the ex-attacker looking very different in his police uniform.
BUT he is still playing football at an amateur level and recently became captain of Britain’s national police team.
Speaking about being an ex-player and now a policeman, Wright told the Mirror: “Some people have obviously recognised that I played for Leicester. Iâve had it in custody as well, which was so funny.
“The custody sergeant had a Leicester City face mask on and straight away made a beeline to me as I was reading out the charges.
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“And then the suspectâs appropriate adult had a Nottingham Forest face covering on, so he said, ‘Iâll tell him about your goal against us’.
“We had a bit of banter when it was appropriate, which I think can help tense situations like that.
“You see the initial look on their face when they notice and have a quick joke before getting back to the matter.”
And Wright believes his football career is a big help to his work with Leicestershire Police.
He added: “Itâs nice and I feel it does make the job easier as people are more willing to engage.
“Iâm happy to talk football as I will always love it.”
