 |
|||||||
    Belgium Czech Rep. Denmark England France Germany Holland Italy Norway Portugal Romania Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey Yugoslavia     |
At just 19, he is one of the brightest hopes for English football - a left-footed, skilful defender. Received a late call-up into the Kevin Keegan's squad after a knee injury ruled out Leeds' Jason Wilcox. The international friendly against Argentina represented his first call-up to the full squad, having already skippered the Under-18s and appeared for the Under-21s when he was only 17, making his debut against the Czech Republic. It's been an incredible rise to fame for the player who shone as a schoolboy at Brighton, before moving acrimoniously to Aston Villa. Villa were forced to pay an initial £150,000, rising to £1million, but the first figure was all chairman Doug Ellis was willing to pay. The Football League's arbitration committee forced the Villa Park club to pay up and the figure has already risen since he has played over 40 games for the Premiership side, and will rise to £1million should he make his debut for England. He made his Premiership bow late in 1998, coming on as a substitute against Sheffield Wednesday, before making the place his own. In February 1999, he celebrated his 18th birthday by signing a lucrative five-year deal to stay at Villa Park, but his form dipped and he found himself back in the reserves. He knuckled down, regained his place in John Gregory's first team and has continued to impress ever since. So much so, that Kevin Keegan selected him for the full squad to face the Argentinians in March 2000. He had been called-up to train with the England squad back in 1998, but a place on the bench against Argentina represented his first taste of the international game. And whilst he didn't get his chance that day, there are sure to be many more opportunities for him to shine in the future. |
||||||
|
|||||||
