Clubs: Aston Villa FC, Burnley FC (loan), Sheffield United FC (loan), Bolton Wanderers FC, Chelsea FC

• Born in Sheffield, he was scouted by Aston Villa but it was at Burnley, during an extended loan spell in 2004/05, that he first made his mark, winning the vote as the Lancashire team's young player of the year.

• Struggled to make headway at Villa – despite starting half of the club's Premier League games under Martin O'Neill in 2006/07, at the end of which he represented England at the UEFA European Under-21 finals in the Netherlands – and returned to his home town for a loan spell at Sheffield United FC before signing for Bolton in January 2008.

• Made four UEFA Cup outings soon after arriving at the Reebok Stadium, the first of them in a 1-0 win against Club Atlético de Madrid, and soon established himself as a cornerstone of the Bolton defence, reaching 100 Premier League appearances just over three years after his arrival.

• First called up by England in June 2009, he did not make his debut until September 2010, coming on as a substitute in the opening UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria; a year later he opened the scoring against the same opponents – his first international goal – in a 3-0 win in Sofia.

• Joined Chelsea in January 2012 and played in five of the seven knockout matches, the final against FC Bayern München included, as the Blues won the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

UEFA honours
UEFA Champions League: winner 2012
UEFA Europa League: winner 2013