Aston Villa and English national goalkeeper Tom Heaton has long been established as one of the safest pair of hands in English football. He came to prominence during his six-year spell with Burnley between 2013 and 2019, being named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year, awarded the team’s Player’s Player of the Year Award, conceding just 37 goals during one Championship-winning season and playing every minute of every game during the 2013/2014 Premier League campaign. He signed for Aston Villa in 2019 and is about to return from a serious injury that ruled him out of much of their 2019/2020 season.

Born in Chester, Heaton began his career as a schoolboy with Wrexham but soon caught the attention of Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world. He joined them aged 16 and won the FA Youth Cup with them before advancing to the reserve team, establishing himself as their first-choice keeper. Several loan spells followed and, looking for regular first-team football, Heaton eventually left Manchester United for Cardiff City, where he won the club’s Young Player of the Award in his first season. He then spent a season at Bristol City before moving to Burnley. Here, his talent truly came into its own as he helped the club win promotion back to the Premier League for the first time in several years.

Heaton’s international career began when he was still with Wrexham when he represented his country at U16 level. He has since played at every level and made his senior debut in 2016 and has since won three caps.