2. Glen Johnson
Originally a product of the West Ham Youth System Johnson struggled to break into the first-team and was eventually loaned to Milwall during the early part of the 2002/03 season, earning him his first England cap and several appearances for the England U21 squad. Upon his return to Upton Park however he finally made his senior debut and became a more important member of the team as the season progressed, making a total of 15 league appearances before West Ham were eventually relegated at the end of the season. As the first purchase of the Abramovich era he was soon transferred to Chelsea and subsequently made his Champions League debut the same season. Johnson went on to enjoy 2 good seasons with Chelsea, making his European debut and winning the 2005 League Cup and 2004/05 Premier League before the 2005/06 season saw his first-team opportunities limited due to injury and the form of Paulo Ferreira. He subsequently joined Portsmouth on a season-long loan deal for the 2006/07 season and this became a permanent transfer on deadline day in August 2007. Johnson made a blistering start to his Portsmouth career, winning the 2008 FA Cup and being voted into the PFA Team of the Year for the 2008/09 season despite Portsmouth finishing in the bottom half of the table. His south coast stint was to be short-term however, with Liverpool agreeing a sizeable fee for his transfer in June 2009. Since joining Liverpool Johnson has become an ever-present in the team for each of the 4 Managers during his time there. Kenny Dalglish was the Manager who initially moved Johnson to left-back, resulting in performances which kept recognised left-back Jose Enrique out of the side. Johnson has since earned himself the reputation as a versatile full-back able to play on left or right, making him a major asset to an international Manager. Add to this the 46 senior caps he has earned to date in conjunction with his vast club experience and Johnson rightly earns his place as one of the frontrunners on this list.