Leighton BainesLeighton Baines has been one of the most influential players in the English Premier League this season.
Everton knew that other big clubs could go hunting for their defender so in January this year they offered him an improved contract which Baines signed to stay at Goodison Park for another four years.
Baines is trying to keep his feet on the ground as the club continues with their push for a top-four spot.
Baines was born on December 11, 1984 in Kirkby, Merseyside.
He began his career in the Liverpool football academy but then joined rivals Everton before another move to Wigan at the age of 17.
Baines went on to make nearly 150 appearances for the Latics, impressing in the Premier League and becoming a regular for England Under-21s. An attacking and tenacious left-back, Baines was a vital player for both club and country, playing all qualifiers in the 2007 European Championship.
After turning down the overtures of Sunderland, Baines decided to return to Everton and in summer of 2007 he left Wigan in a transfer move worth £6m.
That year, he became the third senior signing at Everton following Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar.
Baines missed the first few games of the new season through injury and when he returned he shared left-back duties with Joleon Lescott and Nuno Valente.
The following season saw Baines making the left-back position his own with a string of excellent performances that earned him a call-up to Fabio Capello’s England squad for the qualifier against Ukraine.
Baines was voted Player of the Month two months in a row that season. He scored his first Everton goal (vs Portsmouth away) after 57 games eagerly awaiting to put his name on the score sheet.
On August 2009, Baines scored a late penalty in a 2-1 win over his former team Wigan and a month later he captained Everton for the first time in a match against AEK Athens.
With Ashley Cole injured and Wayne Bridge quitting international football, Baines made his England debut in March 2010, helping the Three Lions to a 3-1 win over Egypt and enhancing his hopes of playing in the World Cup in South Africa.
Baines finished the season with a flourish, recording nine assists − the highest number for a Premier League defender over the last decade. He also received the Players’ Player of the Year award from his Everton peers.
World Cup woe
On May 14, Baines was part of England’s provisional squad to travel to a pre-World Cup training camp in Austria. However, despite playing in both pre-tournament warm-up games for England, Baines lost out to Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock for a place in the final squad.
Baines’s excellent form was re-warded in February 2011 when he was recalled to the national team for the friendly against Denmark.
He went on to win his third cap, coming on as a late substitute in a 2-1 victory in Copenhagen.
He capped a fine season by being awarded the Players’ Player of the Year and the ‘Goal of the Season’. In that campaign he scored seven goals in all.
Baines travelled to Euro 2012 with England but did not get on the pitch as the Whites exited at the quarter-final stage.
One the eve of the 2012-13 season another call-up to the national squad followed, being handed a start − as England got revenge on their Euro conquerors Italy with a 2-1 win in Berne. His display was rewarded with successive starts against Moldova and Ukraine in England’s opening 2014 World Cup qualifying fixtures.
Baines’s first goal for the country came in against Moldova, a 5-0 away win on September 7.
Last season, he netted seven times for Everton in all competitions. Baines scored arguably his best goal away at Newcastle in January 2013 with a thumping free-kick from 30 yards out.