Dean Whitehead Bio Send To Friend  

An excellent passer of the ball - over both short and long range - he is also calm under pressure and has developed into a very assured player.

He has an excellent eye for attacking opportunities, and has proved his ability to score as well as create goals.

He had made his debut for Oxford in December 1999 but it would be the following season before he really began to establish himself as a first team regular.

By 2003-04 his quality performances had the scouts watching and Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy moved for his man. He had been named Oxford's Player of the Year for that term.

The tough-tackling midfielder, who can also fill in at right-back, made his Black Cats bow in a 2-0 defeat at Coventry and soon made a first team berth his own, though he would have to wait until October to bag his first goal - the winner in a 1-0 victory at Rotherham United.

He was a rare mainstay of both Sunderland sides which stormed to the Championship title in 2004-05 and also in 2006-07. He also suffered through the Black Cats' terrible season of relegation from the Premier League in 2005-06.

On his return to the Premier League for the 2007-08 season Whitehead was made Sunderland's skipper but his campaign was cut short when he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in a match against Wigan Athletic.

When the midfielder returned in November he found himself playing at right-back, despite being one of the Black Cat's most accomplished midfielders.

He was again a regular in 2008-09 but Sunderland accepted a bid from Stoke at the end of the season.

Whitehead played 200 games for Sunderland, scoring 14 goals.