Ledley King

Written by Tom Wakefield

England Player Profiles

Ledley Brenton King was Born on 12 October 1980 in Bow , London.

In July 1997 Ledley King joined Tottenham as a trainee, the following year he signed a professional contract and a year on, the young defender would make his first team debut away at Liverpool. His first goal was a goal to remember as it set the record for the quickest goal in Premier League history, King scored after just 10.2 seconds in Tottenham's game at Bradford in December 2000.

Whilst playing at Spurs under the manager George Graham , king established himself as a combative holding midfielder and played there very regularly, but after Glenn Hoddle took over at White Hart Lane, King would move back to his favoured position in the central of defence.

King made his England debut against Italy in 2002. But he has never really established himself in the England set-up, injuries and inconsistent form at club level meant that King has been regularly left out of England squads.

However King's performances earned him a place in Sven Goran Eriksson's Euro 2004 squad, and he started in for England's' opening game against France. King would go on to play superbly, keeping Thierry Henry quiet for long spells of the game. He also made a substitute appearance in the tournament, coming on against Croatia in England's last group game.

After Euro 2004 , King began to have serious problems with his fitness. A chronic knee injury has seen King rarely train over the last few seasons, and he has been limited to one game per week as a result.

Despite this though in the 2009/2010 season, King has arguably been in the form of his life. King is a player of such quality, and despite concerns over his fitness he has found himself in the provisional World Cup squad for 2010, and if he can carry on this seasons form, he could be a real asset for Fabio Capello this summer.

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