Competitor Player Profile: Leighton Baines

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Background

Leighton Baines joined Everton from Wigan Athletic just a few days before the start of the 2007/08 season, signing a five-year deal.

Now regarded as one of the senior stars at Goodison Park, the left-back will playing his 10th season as a Toffee in 2016/17. He has now accrued over 340 appearances in Club colours over that period of time, in which he has developed the reputation as a set-piece expert, particularly from the penalty spot.

Having been on Everton’s books as a teenager, Baines eventually joined Wigan’s youth set-up and made his senior debut at the age of 17. He went on to make nearly 150 appearances for the Latics, impressing in the Premier League and becoming a regular for England Under-21s.

An attacking and tenacious left-back, Baines was a vital player for both his club and country, playing all England’s games in the 2007 European Under-21 Championships. While on duty with the England squad, Baines became friends with Everton’s James Vaughan. And the two became clubmates when the defender agreed to join the Toffees ahead of the first game of the season – ironically against his former club.

Leighton missed the first few games of the 2007/08 season through injury and once he returned he shared left-back duties with Joleon Lescott and Nuno Valente.

The following season was a stark contrast as he made the left-back position his own with a string of excellent performances which saw him included in Fabio Capello’s England squad for the qualifier against Ukraine in April. He had already scored his first Everton goal – an excellent free-kick – as Everton lost 2-1 to Portsmouth in March.

He also received the Players’ Player of the Year award from his Everton peers.

On May 14, Baines was part of England’s 30-man provisional squad to travel to the pre-World Cup training camp in Austria.

Contracted until: June 2019