Wes Brown Bio

Wes Brown looked certain to leave Manchester United upon the expiry of his contract in the summer of 2008 after failing to agree a deal. But during a campaign during which he was the first choice right-back in the absence of the injury Gary Neville he finally banished the speculation to pen a new four-year contract.

His bid to become a regular for both club and country has constantly been dogged by injuries, and it's only in recent seasons that those problems have been put behind him.

Brown signed as a Manchester United professional in November 1996. His performances in the reserves throughout the 1997/98 season earned him a place on the substitutes' bench against Leeds United on May 4, 1998, and after a calm and skillful performance on his debut, he was part of the team in United's last game of the season at Barnsley.

An accomplished central defender, Brown gained a regular first team place at full-back where his pace and attacking instincts made him an ideal replacement for the then-injured Denis Irwin.

Brown received his first England cap against Hungary in Budapest in 1999 and the youngster was a big part of the United squad who won the Treble in 1998/99.

However, the injury jinx began when a training ground cruciate ligament knee injury meant that he missed the entire 1999/2000 season.

Brown was back in time for the start of the 2000/01 campaign and before long he was a regular in the starting XI once again, putting in a number of fine displays.

He was blossoming into a fine young defender, incredibly relaxed on the ball and whose excellent performances alongside Dutch international Jaap Stam during the 2000/01 season had him pushing for a regular England place.

Brown won a place on the England plane to Japan and Korea in 2002. After a couple of shaky showings in pre-tournament friendlies he was to enjoy the World Cup from the bench.

He played possibly his best football in 2002/03, but Brown again did his cruciate knee ligament on the last day of the season against Everton, putting him on the sidelines again until the turn of the year.

Brown looked to be on his way out of United in 2004/05 when he rejected the offer of a new contract - with Ferguson considering a January sale. But in November he penned a deal to run until the end of 2007/08.

The arrival of Nemanja Vidic in January 2006 meant that most of his first-team chances were restricted to an understudy, either to Ferdinand or Vidic, or for Gary Neville at right-back.

Nevertheless he confirmed his worth as a vital component with some strong displays as United seized their chance of becoming champions of 2006/07.

In the last year of his contract and unable to agree terms, an exit seemed likely at the end of 2007/08. Newcastle lodged a bid for the defender when the transfer market reopened in January though he turned them down and signed a new four-year contract at Old Trafford.

With Neville on the sidelines, Brown enjoyed his most productive season in terms of appearances in 2007/08, playing 52 games as United took the Premier League and Champions League double.