A senior Wales international by the age of 19, Jack Collison is a tall central midfielder who made great strides under Tony Carr's direction in the West Ham United youth set-up and has continued to impress Alan Curbishley.

He was spotted playing for Cambridge United and offered a scholarship in summer 2005. After progressing through the youth ranks, the Watford-born Collison showed glimpses of his potential during the first team's 2007/08 pre-season friendlies, getting regular outings alongside more experienced team-mates. He continued that form into the campaign and was made reserve-team captain by Kevin Keen - a sign of the leadership qualities he already possesses despite his young age.

His first-team debut came on 1 January 2008 as a first-half replacement for the injured Freddie Ljungberg away to Arsenal, who won 2-0. By then Collison had opted to play international football for Wales - he qualified through a grandfather - and before the end of 2007 had played two Under-21 European qualfiers. He even scored a stunning solo goal on his debut - a 4-0 home win against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 17 November.

Collison got another run-out on 12 April 2008 away to Bolton Wanderers - this time it was his first start. Although it ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat and his substitution, Collison remained involved until the end of the campaign. He then got another U21 cap against England before being called up for the Wales senior squad for the end of season matches away to Iceland and the Netherlands.

He started the first game in Reykjavik, a 1-0 win, before coming on in Rotterdam for a memorable run-out in the 2-0 defeat by the Euro 2008 finalists. Collison was joined on the pitch by club-mate Craig Bellamy - a taste of things to come for club and country. His summer got even better when he signed a new long-term contract just before the tour of North America.