Jagielka, born in Manchester of Polish descent, is a powerful centre-half.
He had five seasons as a regular for Sheffield United, even playing in goal in one match against Arsenal after Paddy Kenny was injured (and keeping a clean sheet), before signing for top-flight Everton in a £4m deal in July 2007 following the Blades’ relegation from the Premier League.
He made his League debut in the last fixture of the 1999-2000 season, when he was just 17, and didn’t miss any matches at all in seasons 2004-05 and 2005-06, weighing in with eight goals in the latter.
He has become a star at Goodison, despite being out for several months with a knee injury that caused him to miss the 2009 FA Cup Final against Chelsea.
He scored twice in six England Under-21 appearances and played for the ‘B’ team against Albania before Fabio Capello handed him his first senior cap as a substitute for Rio Ferdinand against Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain in June 2008.
He started the Spain friendly in Seville and collected his third cap when substituting for Ferdinand again during the World Cup Qualifier with Ukraine at Wembley.
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