WESLEY BROWN

06.WESLEY BROWN

A former student at the FA School of Excellence at Lilleshall, Wes Brown also played for Manchester and Greater Manchester as a schoolboy. He signed as a trainee on leaving school in July 1996 and signed as a professional just four months later on 4 November 1996.

In his first full season at Old Trafford, Brown picked up a Lancashire FA Youth Cup winners' medal and a Lancashire League Division One medal together with the Denzil Haroun Young Player of the Year award.

His performances for the reserves and juniors throughout the season earned him a place on the first team bench against Leeds United on 4 May 1998. Brought on in the 60th minute to replace David May, he appeared in the starting line-up for the first time the following week as United defeated Barnsley 2-0.

His performances in the 1998/99 season again caught the eye. An accomplished central defender, Brown actually gained a regular first team place by deputising for the injured Denis Irwin at full-back. Quick and able to surge forward down the wing, Brown has had football critics revelling in his potential, likening him to a young Paul McGrath.

An established international at Under-18 and Under-21 level, Brown made the step up to the senior squad during the 1998/99 season, and received his first cap under Kevin Keegan, playing against Hungary in Budapest.

Wes Brown's first team opportunities were limited towards the end of the season, but the young defender could still claim to have played his part in the club's Treble success.

Wes was all set to make an even bigger impact in 1999/2000, but a serious knee injury suffered in pre-season training forced him to miss the entire campaign.

Wes came back strongly during the 2000/01 season, so much so that he earned several call-ups to the senior England squad. In December 2000, Sir Alex Ferguson praised him to the hilt in a press conference, saying:

"He's without question the best natural defender this club has had for years and years. He's been absolutely unbelievable. His performance level is incredible."

Happily Wes remained largely injury-free during 2000/01. He did, however, fall victim to suspension at one stage - missing United's FA Cup defeat against West Ham after being shown the yellow card five times.

Wes mainly played at centre-back in 2000/01, alongside either Gary Neville or Jaap Stam, but he again demonstrated his versatility by playing the occasional match at right-back.

Wes signed a new four-year deal with United on 9 July 2001 that will keep him at the Theatre of Dreams until 2005.

Brown was named in the England squad for the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea, but did not get the chance to show his skills on the biggest stage.