Wilson Palacios: The Kind of Player Spurs Haven't Had in 30 Years

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Jermaine Defoe, Luka Modric, and Aaron Lennon have claimed all the plaudits as Spurs soar towards the summit of the EPL, but the real hero at White Hart Lane has been Wilson Palacios.

With four wins out of four, Spurs have gotten off to their best start to a league campaign in 49 years. The last time they achieved that feat, they went on to win the league...

Much has been made of the prowess of Tottenham's forward line. No team in the English Premier League has four strikers of undoubted class, not even heavyweights like Chelsea and Manchester United.

And while the free-flowing, easy-scoring strikers have powered Spurs to the top of the league, it is the midfield powerhouse of Wilson Palacios that has provided the foundation for all that is good at White Hart Lane at the moment.

Spurs signed Palacios from Wigan in January for £12m, and with the all-action midfielder in the engine room, Spurs went from the bottom of the table and certain relegation to European contenders as they eventually finished 8th.

Palacios began his footballing career with Olimpia in Honduras in 2002. Over his six years with the club, he made 102 appearances and went on to score 32 goals from the right side of midfield.

He was brought into the international team in 2003 after a series of eye-catching performances and it was here that he began to catch the eye of scouts from Europe.

Arsenal's scouts watched Palacios over a run of games in late 2006, but Monaco and Red Star Belgrade moved quicker than the Gunners and offered him trials at each club.

Monaco were suitably impressed but refused to meet Olimpia's estimation of the player and the deal fell through, and Wenger moved in to offer a trial at the Premiership club.

In the end, Wenger opted against signing the right-sided midfielder as he already had a multitude of options at the club, but the Frenchman's word carries a lot of weight.

And after a casual conversation between Wenger and Bruce, the ex-United player decided to see the Honduran for himself.

Steve Bruce plucked the midfielder from the footballing wilderness in Honduras after the recommendation of Wenger, and Palacios joined Birmingham on loan.

However, fate was to have a cruel twist as Palacios' younger brother Edwin was kidnapped by a local gang.

He went home to Honduras to be with his family during this difficult period. During this time, Steve Bruce resigned from Birmingham and took over at Wigan Athletic, and immediately went back in for Palacios.

Having never seen him play due to his time in Honduras, Alex McLeish allowed Palacios to move to the JJB Stadium and Wigan.

The midfielder immediately began to catch the eye of the bigger teams in the EPL, and after 37 games for the Latics, Harry Redknapp came in with a bid for his services.

Over his 50-odd games in the Premiership between Spurs and Wigan, Palacios has forged a massive reputation for himself, and is now regarded as one of the best central midfielders in the league.

Upon taking over from Juande Ramos as manager, Redknapp immediately signaled to chairman Daniel Levy that he needed an enforcer in the middle of the park, he rightly pointed out that Spurs had a soft centre that needed fixing if the club were to stay in the league after their worst start to a campaign since 1912.

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