Clubs: West Ham United FC, AFC Bournemouth (loan), Tottenham Hotspur FC, Portsmouth FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC

• A Londoner, he was enrolled at the National School of Excellence at Lilleshall by Charlton Athletic FC but went on to sign professional forms with West Ham, where his pace and eye for a goal were much in evidence – not least during a prolific loan spell at Bournemouth during which he scored in ten successive games.

• Relegated from the Premier League with the Hammers in 2003, he joined Tottenham the following January and made his senior England debut – after a long and productive career with the Under-21s – two months later, in a friendly against Sweden (0-1).

• Not selected for UEFA EURO 2004 or the 2006 FIFA World Cup (where his place was surprisingly taken by untried 17-year-old Theo Walcott), he experienced mixed fortunes for Spurs and left for Portsmouth midway through the 2007/08 season – which meant he missed Tottenham's League Cup win the following month and was ineligible to participate in Pompey's run to FA Cup glory.

• Followed manager Harry Redknapp back to Spurs in January 2009; suffered an early injury setback but went on to score a career-best 24 goals in all competitions – including five in one game against Wigan Athletic FC (9-1) – during a 2009/10 season which ended with his selection for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he scored a winning goal against Slovenia to help his side advance to the knockout phase.

• Took his international goal tally to 15 with a hat-trick in England's opening UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier at home to Bulgaria (5-0) but injury sustained in the second qualifier against Switzerland four days later sidelined him for almost three months; scored twice on his first UEFA Champions League start – in 3-3 draw away to FC Twente − soon after his return.