Carlo Cudicini

Although he had made only three first-team appearances during his initial year-long loan period at Chelsea, the club were impressed sufficiently by Carlo's ability to exercise their option of a permanent transfer from Serie C club Castel di Sangro.

He made an early appearance in the third Premiership match of the 2000-01 campaign at Aston Villa when Ed de Goey sustained a hamstring injury in the pre-match warm-up, stepping in with a heroic performance to defy the home forwards and earn a valuable away point.

This was the first of seven consecutive appearances and it turned out to be a baptism of fire for Carlo as the Blues began a dismal autumn with the departure of Luca Vialli and UEFA Cup elimination.

De Goey returned for a short spell, but was surprisingly dropped for the New Year's Day return match against Villa and Carlo stepped in to great effect for the remainder of the season as the revitalised Blues put together a strong run which lifted them to sixth place in the Premiership and a UEFA Cup qualification.

He is a good shot stopper and extremely agile for such a big man.

Petr Cech's excellent form has pushed him into second place in the Chelsea goalkeeping order.

Carlo's contract at Chelsea was extended to June 2009 in January 2006.

His contract at Tottenham Hotspur was extended to June 2011 in May 2010 and to June 2012 in May 2011.