Current club: Chelsea
‘JT’ is a 6’1” Barking-born central defender and captain of Chelsea. He joined the Blues’ youth system at 14 and made his senior debut as a late substitute in a League Cup tie against Aston Villa in October 1998 when he was 17.
He had a loan spell at Nottingham Forest and nearly signed for Huddersfield Town before deciding to try and make the grade with Chelsea’s first team.
He was an established member from the 2000-01 season, making 23 starts, and captained the Blues for the first time in a Premier League fixture against Charlton Athletic in December 2001.
He has become a Chelsea legend, winning three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups. They were also a spot-kick away from lifting the Champions League trophy in 2008.
John was capped nine times for the Under-21s and won his first full cap as a substitute for Gareth Southgate in a friendly against Serbia & Montenegro at Leicester on 3 June 2003. He scored his first England goal in a Hungary friendly ten days after becoming the father of twins.
He was in the All-star Squad for the 2006 World Cup and both Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello subsequently made him their England skipper. He reached his half-century of caps against Slovakia at Wembley in March 2009.