Jose Bosingwa

Jose Bosingwa has been one of the most impressive full backs in Europe this season. Playing on the right for FC Porto and the Portuguese national side, he's improved steadily until you can now safely call him world class. Over the summer he was almost an Aston Villa player, but was also tipped to join Middlesbrough and Tottenham. Price became a stumbling block, but regret may be setting in as Bosingwa continues to impress.

Bosingwa was born in the Congo but emigrated to Portugal as a child. As a youth he joined Boavista FC, Porto's local rivals until Jose Mourinho, then the Porto manager, swooped him up for his squad.

Bosingwa quickly established himself as a club favorite as his quickness and pace saw his easily control wingers and offer support down the wing. He is extremely fit and has a few tricks in his bag. He did an excellent job for Portugal through their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with excellent crossing and poise in defense.

At 25, he is entering his prime for his position and continues to attract interest. Aston Villa really wanted to sign him but the price seemed to hover around 9m pounds, too much for O'Niell's budget. A potential move in the January for any club in the transfer window looks unlikely as he is Cup tied and, frankly, his stock has gone up. While he may not have the muscle that the Premiership seems to demand these days, he's very smart and uses his quickness very effectively in defense. Definitely one of the finest defenders in Europe at the moment.

Note: I was interviewed for the second time today by New Zealand's BSports Radio in Auckland. It was a lot of fun, email me if you want to listen to the interview.

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