PLAYER PROFILE

Zat Knight

Position: Defence

Height: 6'5

Weight: 13st 8lbs

Date of Birth: 1980-05-02 Solihull, England

Zat Knight

This strikingly tall defender was signed in 1999 by the then manager Kevin Keegan, after he returned from a trial period with Benfica. He has two good feet and has progressed nicely under the guidance of Jean Tigana and now Chris Coleman.

Knight made 17 appearances in 2001/02, having only played in three League Cup games previously. His accomplished performances caught the eye of England Under 21 coach David Platt, who took Knight to the European Championships, where the young centre half was again impressive.

Over Fulham’s 2002/03 season Knight continued to progress, winning many appraisals along the way. The youngster played in over 20 games for the club and although he didn’t pick up any yellow cards was given shown one red, against West Ham in October.

The following season just saw his progress continue. Coleman is a massive fan of Knight's, having played alongside him and now is his manager. He featured in almost all of Fulham's Premiership fixtures last term, and his consistency certainly played a large part in the team's overall success.

The 2004/05 season saw this talented youngster continue to impress. He played in much of Fulham's Barclays Premiership campaign, making 42 apperances all in all and scoring twice, including once in his team's 6-0 final day thrashing of Norwich.

At the end of the season, he was rewarded for his impressive displays with an England call-up for their two-match mini-tour of America. He played the full 90-minutes against Colombia.

However, 2005/06 was a less successful season for him, as he was punished for breaking a club curfew in October and was never really in contention for a place in the England World Cup squad.

He returned to form in 2006/07, but his season was cut short when he broke his jaw while messing about with his brother.