PLAYER PROFILE

Tal Ben Haim

Position: Defence

Height: 6'0

Weight: 11st 9lbs

Date of Birth: 1982-03-31 Rishon Letzion, Israel

Tal Ben Haim

After a short trial with Bolton in the summer of 2004, Sam Allardyce secured the serviecs of Maccabi Tel Aviv defender Tal Ben Haim on a three-year deal.

"Tal is the biggest name to come out of Israeli football since Eyal Berkovic," Allardyce said.

"He has all the right attributes to make it in the Premiership."

The young star is widely regarded as one of the hotest properties in Israeli football.

His first season at the Reebok Stadium was a successful one as he made 27 appearances and scored his first goal for the Trotters - the second in a 3-1 home victory against Spurs.

The only thing that hampered his campaign a little was a clash with Wayne Rooney in a league match when Rooney appeared to shove him in the face. Ben Haim, it was claimed, went down too easily and made too much of it and was charged with improper conduct by the FA. He was later cleared of the charges.

Another two impressive seasons followed in 05/06 and 06/07, leading to reported interest during 2007 from Jose Mourinho. Ben Haim left the club in June 2007 at the end of his contract, and, despite interest from Newcastle United, joined Chelsea.