A POWERFUL and strong central defender, the Birmingham-born youngster linked up with The Saddlers' youth team during the early part of the 2005/06 campaign and went on to put in some impressive displays that belied his tender years and earned him a professional deal during the summer of 2006.

The former Solihull College student was allowed to link up with Halesowen Town on loan on January 4th 2007 in order to gain much-needed first-team experience at a competitive level.

After returning to the Banks's Stadium, he started to make his mark on the first-team towards the end of the 2006/07 campaign with some impressive displays.

Signing a 12-month contract extension in May 2007, his progress continued in 2007/08 as he ended the campaign in the starting line-up.

He put pen to paper on a new deal in May 2008 and his performances during the second half of the 2008/09 season were enough to earn him the Young Player of the Season award and another new contract.

Once more he continued to make progress in 2009/10 and was in the running for the Player of the Season award.

Now one of the key members of the back-line, he has a bright future ahead of him.