Danny Higginbotham Bio Send To Friend  

Following a season away from Stoke City Higginbotham rejoined the club, now playing in the Premier League, in a £2.5million deal on transfer deadline day, September 2008.

In August 2007 Higginbotham had handed in a transfer request at the Potters and the following day signed a four-year contract with Sunderland after Stoke accepted a £3million transfer fee.

The versatile defender, who can play anywhere across the back four, was a regular for the first-half of Sunderland's first season back in the Premier League but injury and a loss of form limited him to just five appearances at the turn of the year.

On 10 November 2007, Higginbotham scored the opening goal for Sunderland in a 11 draw with arch-rivals Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light.

Higginbotham began his career as a Manchester United trainee, he made a series of cameos during the 1999/2000 season and the Manchester-born lad seemed to be another contender for Denis Irwin's left-back spot at Old Trafford.

However, in a surprising summer move, the 21-year-old went to Derby County in search of first team football. He joined the Rams for £2million in July 2000.

Pacy, skillful and a good reader of the game, Higginbotham played in Belgium for Royal Antwerp during a loan spell, United's feeder club, where he was a real favourite.

He was involved in an incident with a referee which saw him banned from football for a year while team-mate Ronnie Wallwork received a life ban. The bans were revoked on appeal.

The defender made his Derby debut in a 2-2 draw at home to Southampton - a club he would come to know a lot better.

Higginbotham was named the Rams' Player of the Year, despite a tough 2001/02 campaign in which the club were relegated into the Football League.

It was always expected that Higginbotham would eventually move back to the Premiership, and he did just that as the transfer window closed in January 2003.

Southampton made a move for the player and initially signed him on loan for the remainder of the season. The deal included a guaranteed permanent transfer for £1.5million in the summer, and he signed a four-year deal on July 1.

The player's Southampton debut came in a 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. He missed two months at the start of the 2003/04 campaign, but returned to become a regular member of the Saints' first team, making 84 appearances before heading to Stoke in March 2006.

This once promising player spent 45 matches languishing in the League Championship with Stoke, following relegation with Southampton, but is now back in the top flight with Sunderland.