Curtis Davies

Curtis Eugene Davies (born 15 March, 1985 in London) is an England professional Association football who plays as a Defender (association football). He currently plays for Aston Villa F.C. and has previously played for Luton Town F.C., where he began his career, and West Bromwich Albion F.C..

Club career

Early career

Davies was born in Leytonstone, to an English mother and a Sierra Leonean father. He started his career with Wimbledon F.C., as a trainee, at the age of 15. A year later, he was released. He wrote to every club in the local area, including Arsenal F.C., Crystal Palace F.C., Queens Park Rangers F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Millwall F.C. asking for a trial. Luton Town F.C. responded first, two weeks before any other club, and a trial was offered. During the trial, he scored two goals in three games and was handed a scholarship straight away. He made his full team debut in 2003.

He made six appearances in the league during the 2003–04 season, with the away performance at QPR particularly good. The next season Davies achieved his first promotion as he appeared in 44 league games for the Hatters, scoring his first senior goal in the title-clinching win at Wrexham A.F.C.. Davies was named League One Player of the Year for that season, as well as winning the Luton Town Young Player of the Year award. He also made the League One PFA Team of the Year for 2004–05, alongside five of his teammates.

The next season Davies only managed six games, and a goal in his final game at home to Millwall before his impressive displays saw him signed by then-Premier League side West Bromwich Albion on 31 August 2005 for a fee of £3 million.

West Bromwich Albion

Davies had an impressive first season for West Brom, making 35 starts and scoring two goals. However, he was unable to stop West Brom being relegated. On 28 July 2006 he pledged his future to West Brom, by signing a new four-year deal.

In 2006-07 in English football Davies became West Brom captain on a permanent basis, having worn the armband on several occasions during the previous season. He received his first-ever red card against Middlesbrough F.C. on 17 February 2007 after receiving two yellow cards for challenges on Boro striker Mark Viduka. On 14 March, Davies broke his fifth metatarsal bone in the Baggies' game against Crystal Palace, ruling him out for the rest of the season. This made him unavailable for selection for the first ever game at the new Wembley Stadium, where he was expected to have appeared for the England Under-21s. Davies was named in the PFA Championship team of the year for 2006–07.

On 21 June, Davies had a transfer request rejected by West Brom. Davies subsequently handed in two further transfer requests, both of which were rejected. On 30 August 2007, Albion announced that they had given permission for Davies to speak to Aston Villa F.C. regarding a possible move.

Aston Villa

On 31 August 2007, Davies signed for Aston Villa on a season long loan, with a view to a permanent transfer in the summer of 2008. He made his Villa debut in a 1–0 Football League Cup defeat to Leicester City F.C. on 27 September 2007. He compared his performance to that of a pub team player saying:

Davies made his Premier League debut with Villa in the 2–0 home victory against Derby County F.C. on 3 November. He scored on his first Premier League start in a 2–1 away victory at Wigan Athletic F.C. on 29 December 2007. He then became a regular in Aston Villa's back four at the expense of Zat Knight.

On 1 March 2008 Davies suffered a season ending ruptured achilles tendon against Arsenal F.C. in a 1–1 draw and was thought to be out for around six months. But he surprised doctors by making a remarkable comeback much sooner than expected. He played 60 minutes in a behind-closed doors friendly against Notts County at Villa's training ground, and then 62 minutes in another friendly against Reading at the Madjeski Stadium, a game that ended with a 1–1 draw. His move to Villa was made permanent on 3 July 2008, with Davies signing a four-year contract. The fee was undisclosed but has been quoted variously at between £8–10 million.

International career

Davies made his England national under-21 football team debut on 28 February 2006, against Norway national under-21 football team.

He was named in Fabio Capello's first provisional England national football team squad. Davies initially expressed shock at the news of his call-up.