He went out on loan spells with Darlington, Bury and Falkirk before he eventually made his City debut.
He joined League Two side Darlington on a loan deal in January 2006, making his professional first team debut against Peterborough in a 2–1 victory.
His first clean sheet came three days later against Grimsby, and two further appearances followed before he returned to City.
Schmeichel barely had time to unpack his bags before he was off again, this time just up the road to Bury, where he made 15 appearances in a three-month loan spell.
He returned to Bury for a further three months the following season, then joined Scottish Premier League Falkirk from January 2007 until the end of the season.
His man of the match performance against Rangers that February did him no harm, and Falkirk expressed an interest in signing him.
However, Schmeichel made his City debut against West Ham in August 2007 then kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 derby win before saving a Robin van Persie penalty at the Emirates.
He conceded five goals and kept four clean sheets in a run of seven matches, signing a new four-year deal
...The Graduates
Although he appeared briefly to have made the City No.1 jersey his own, the emergence of future England goalkeeper Joe Hart resulted in Schmeichel being loaned to Cardiff City, a spell that the 2007 Danish under-21 Talent of the Year asked to be extended from one month to three.
His hopes of staying at Cardiff for the rest of the season were dashed in Janaury when Andreas Isaksson asked for a transfer, leaving Sven-Goran Eriksson no option but to recall Schmeichel from Wales. In March he went to Coventry on loan for the rest of the season.
His last game for City came in December 2008, a UEFA Cup tie against Racing Santander. The signing of Republic of Ireland international Shay Given a month later pushed Schmeichel even further down the pecking order, and in August 2009, he was signed by Eriksson at Notts County.
He spent only one season there due to the club’s uncertain financial position, and joined Leeds United in May 2010, again staying one season before linking up again with Eriksson at Leicester.
