Former Liverpool striker Fabio Borini joins League Two’s Salford City | OneFootball

Former Liverpool and Sunderland striker Fabio Borini has made a surprise return to English football by joining League Two’s Salford City.

The 34-year-old, who has been a free agent since leaving Sampdoria in the summer, has agreed a contract until January.

He has been training with the men’s first team for the last month and comes in to cover for Jay Bird, who is likely to be out of action for a prolonged period due to injury.

“It’s been great, I came in to train to keep myself fit in this transition between contracts and Salford, the gaffer, Alex Bruce were kind enough to allow me to use the facilities and train here,” Borini said.

“Experience is one thing that I can bring, but it’s not just about the experience that I have on the pitch, it’s outside of the pitch so leading by example in training, outside training, how to manage a game.

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Fabio Borini previously played for Liverpool (Getty Images)

“I’ve never played League Two football so I need to learn as well from my team mates the main characteristics of this league, but I will bring myself as an open book for my team mates to use me, learn from me or help me, so I’m very open to this challenge.

“It’s a challenge that I’m embracing and I chose to embrace because I needed the real football, something that warms my heart for football, not for anything else.”

The Italian spent time in the academies of Bologna and Chelsea as a youth player, before enjoying senior spells with Roma, Liverpool, Sunderland and AC Milan.

Borini notched 16 goals and five assists across 111 Premier League appearances and also has a goal at Wembley to his name, scoring the opener in the 2014 League Cup final against Manchester City for Sunderland - a game the Black Cats went on to lose 3-1.

Fabio Borini also boasts a cap for the Italy national team, which he earned in 2012.