Steed Malbranque Bio Send To Friend  

The Frenchman was a key creative spark for Spurs under manager Martin Jol but despite, rather surprisingly, being one of the top five tacklers in the Premier League during the 2007/08 season Jol's successor Juande Ramos let the midfielder go.

When Malbranque first joined Tottenham in August 2006 it was the big move he hoped for.

The skilful midfielder had spent five years at Fulham where he had become a cult figure. But his reluctance to sign a new contract meant the Cottagers had to cash in while they still could.

Malbranque made the move from French side Lyon to Fulham in August 2001 for a fee of £4.5million.

The midfielder actually came close to joining Arsenal a couple of seasons earlier but rejected the move as he felt he wasn't ready to play in the Premiership. But when Fulham offered him a second chance he decided to take it.

The player was just 18 when he made his debut for Lyon, and before that had great success with the club's youth sides - he won the Under-15 championship twice, the Under-17 Cup and the reserve team championship. He also captained the French Under-18 side.

Malbranque played for the much fancied France side which lost the final of the European Under-21 Championships final to the Czech Republic in May 2002.

He made his Fulham debut in a 3-2 defeat at Manchester United and soon showed the kind of attacking qualities which have lit up the Premiership since.

He had another superb season in 2002/03, finishing as the club's top scorer with 13 goals as he helped Fulham to Premiership safety.

It was thought he would leave the club following the exit of manager Jean Tigana, but Chris Coleman's impact as a manager eventually saw him stay and extend his deal until the summer of 2007.

He was offered the chance to play for Belgium towards the end of the campaign, having not represented the full France side but turned it down.

The same contract rumours surfaced as Malbranque neared the end of the latest deal, but this time he was adamant he would move on. He accepted the chance to join Tottenham Hotspur for around £2million in August 2006. He had played 211 games for Fulham, scoring 44 goals.

His debut for Spurs was delayed due a hernia injury which required surgery, and he eventually made his bow in a Carling Cup tie against Port Vale in November.

Malbranque soon got into his stride, scoring Premiership goals against Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth, and becoming Martin Jol's chosen option as left midfielder.

He was a regular in the first 11 as Spurs came within a whisker of qualifying for the Champions League in 2005/06 and was one of ten players who went down with food poisoning on the eve of the final game of the season as Tottenham missed out.