Troy Deeney is set for a surprise career change having entered a national pool competition.
The striker, who spent more than five seasons playing in the Premier League with Watford, will be a wildcard at the the UK Open Pool Championship in May.
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The competition will welcome the most talented players from all over Britain to Telford between May 7 to 12, an event which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Deeney said: “I am absolutely buzzing to play at the UK Open Pool Championship.
"I always fancied myself on the table at the training ground with the
boys so when this opportunity came up, I jumped at the chance to put myself to the test against some of the world's top players and can't wait to compete on 7th May."
Deeney came on talkSPORT on Tuesday to speak about his career change, speaking on the Hawksbee & Jacobs Show: "I enjoy playing it. I think if you grew up in a British culture as much as I have in terms of pubs and playing pool you'd like to think you're decent, a good game of killer never goes amiss in any boozer, does it.
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"I've had some fun with it but generally, working with Matchroom, it is great to be involved in trying to see how other athletes work because obviously football is a team sport.
"I've always been someone who admires people in solo sports so trying my hand at it.
"If it works, great. If it doesn't, great, because I've learnt something so going to try have a bit of fun with it."
The UK Open Pool Championship use nine-ball rules, which does not need the black ball being potted to end the match, with Deeney adding: "The beauty of nine-ball is you could play and get all eight in and miss the last shot then I come in and tap the ninth one in and I've won and that is kind of the strategy.
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"There is more pressure on them losing to a footballer than me losing to a professional.
"I've got [a pool table] at home and I've got to give thanks to Rileys [sports bar], they've been looking after me as well.
"So I'll go down there, put a few hours in and you'll see in the next week or so we are getting some ex-pool champions in and work work on form and technique."
CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport, Emily Frazer said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Troy Deeney to the UK Pool Open as a wild card player.
"His presence will undoubtedly heighten the excitement and competitiveness of this iconic World Nineball Tour event.”
The move into pool comes after Deeney's first foray into management after hanging up his playing boots ended in disappointment.
After leaving Birmingham City as a player in 2023, the 35-year-old joined Forest Green Rovers as a player-coach last summer before replacing David Horseman as head coach in December.
However, Deeney's reign lasted less than a month as he failed to win in six matches and he also came under fire for publicly criticising a number of his players.
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Club owner Dale Vince then told talkSPORT Deeney's post-match outburst after defeat to Hartlepool was a factor in his decision.
Deeney scored 182 goals during his 20-year playing career with 140 of them coming for Watford. Not many can claim they worked harder on the pitch than him.
In fact, such was his work-rate that former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun put him alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when building his perfect striker.
At talkSPORT he has become a well-respected analyst and co-host where he is unafraid to voice his opinion.
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A die-hard Birmingham City fan, who has the club crest tattooed onto his leg, he told Simon Jordan, another host known for his strong views, the Blues' rivalry is bigger than that of the north London derby.
His take on Ollie Watkins' best position split opinion, with Martin O'Neill, siding with the Villa striker and questioning Deeney for appearing to play down his attributes as a striker. It also struck a nerve with the top scoring player, who reminded him about his comments when celebrating his goal against Arsenal that blew the title race wide open.