PLAYER PROFILE

Anton Ferdinand

Position: Defence

Height: 6'2

Weight: 12st 4lbs

Date of Birth: 1985-02-18 Peckham, England

Anton Ferdinand

When your older brother is the world's most expensive defender it must be difficult to avoid the inevitable comparisons, but young Anton Ferdinand is determined to step out of Rio's shadow and carve a place for himself in the Barclays Premiership.

Glenn Roeder offered Ferdinand Junior a professional contract at the age of 17, the same week in which his older brother completed his £30million move to Manchester United.

After seeing huge improvements in his game over the previous six months, Roeder felt it was time for Anton to make the step up to professional level and rewarded him with a three-year deal.

Ferdinand is another product of West Ham's celebrated youth academy and can play centre-back or right-back. He broke into the team following their relegation from the top flight and established himself under Alan Pardew in 2004/05.

It wasn't until the 2005/06 season that he truly began to shine, however. All in all, he made thirty-eight appearances, scoring two goals and winning the Barclays Player of the Month Award for January.

However, his season ended on a low-note as he missed the crucial spot-kick in the FA Cup final penalty shoot-out against Liverpool.

While the 2006/07 season was a successful season on the pitch for Ferdinand, off it, he experienced troublesome times as he was arrested on assault charges in October 2006.

He then raised the ire of Alan Curbishley when he went AWOL before a crucial game in February. He said he was going to visit a sick relative, but instead flew to America to celebrate his birthday. As a result, he found himself less of a regular for the Hammers over the following 16 months.

In August 2008 he left West Ham to join Sunderland for an undisclosed fee.