Jordan Spence has enjoyed a prodigious rise since joining West Ham United in 2004. Already a fixture for club and country at youth level, he is being tipped to go all the way by those already in the know about his talent.

Born on 24 May 1990, Spence had the honour of captaining England to the U17 World Cup quarter-finals in late summer 2007, having guided England to the European U17 Championship final earlier in the year. During those finals in South Korea, Spence had the honour of scoring a late winning goal against the might of Brazil - the first time England had beaten their South American rivals in a FIFA tournament.

In October 2007, at still only 17, Spence was promoted to the U19 national-team set-up, making his debut as an 87th-minute substitute as England won 6-0 against Romania in a European U19 Championship qualifier in Scunthorpe. The Woodford-based youngster, who cites Thierry Henry as his favourite player, has ambitions of playing for West Ham United at Wembley Stadium.

During the 2007/08 campaign, he fully made the step to reserve-team level, becoming a regular in Kevin Keen's squads - including a goal in the 2-2 home draw against Arsenal in November 2007. Spence, nicknamed Spencer, cites his dad Rocky as his inspiration. He was given a further lift in summer 2008 when he joined the first-team squad on the pre-season tour of North America.

He was an unused substitute for the first three games of the 2008/09 season and continued his meteroic rise with his country by being appointed captain of the U19 side. In October 2008, he helped the Young Lions to qualify for the Elite round of the 2009 European U19 Championship.