PLAYER PROFILE

Jonathan Greening

Position: Midfield

Height: 6'0

Weight: 11st 3lbs

Date of Birth: 1979-01-02 Scarborough, England

Jonathan Greening

Then-West Brom boss Gary Megson signed Middlesbrough's Jonathan Greening in July 2004 in a £1.25million deal.

Greening signed a three-year deal with a one-year extension option, and the deal also includes clauses that entitle Boro to further payments depending on Greening's appearances and the Baggies retaining their top-flight status.

Greening joined Manchester United from York City in early 1998 as a 19-year-old. He had played just a handful of games for Minster Men when Alex Ferguson snapped up his services for £500,000.

Greening can operate as a striker or a winger, but found first team opportunities limited with the wealth of talent United possess in those departments.

Sir Alex Ferguson's policy of rotating his team for the League Cup gave him his debut in the first team, though he since only made a handful of appearances.

Greening is the proud owner of a Champions League winners medal after earning a place on the bench in Barcelona in 1999. The England Under-21 international only made five starts and four substitute appearances for the Reds in the 2000/01 season, and realised his future lay elsewhere.

Greening decided to join up with Steve McClaren and his Middlesbrough revolution in 2001 after spending three frustrating seasons with Manchester United.

Greening cost Boro £2million and was signed on the same day as United's Mark Wilson.

In his first season at Middlesbrough, he established himself in the first team and received a late call-up to join the England party for the European Under-21 Championships in May 2002.

He continued to impress in his second year at the club, proving to be a crucial player for Boro, though he will hope to improve on his contribution of just two goals. An England call-up was certainly well-deserved.

The 2003/04 season saw Greening continue to make substitute appearances, with Doriva favoured for a starting role in midfield. He still had a role to play at the club and helped them on their way to Carling Cup glory featuring in four of Boro's five games.

The summer transfer window brought with it rumours of a move, and it always seemed likely that Greening would make the switch to Premiership new boys West Bromwich Albion.

In his first season with the Baggies, Greening became a vital asset for Bryan Robson's struggling outfit. He made a total of 37 appearances for his new club as they struggled at the foot of the Barclays Premiership table.

His only blackmark came when he was fined by the club for his red-card in a fiery Midlands derby against Aston Villa in April.

He continued this fine form in 2005/06 but could not prevent his team from being relegated back to the Championship.

However, since then he has flourished, helping them gain promotion to the top flight in 2007/08 and being named as captain.

Greening's form is crucial to the Baggies' hopes of staying up in 2008/09.