Player Profile

Honduras’s star player has lived up to his billing with impressive performances for club and country.

Palacios thrived at Tottenham last season, having signed for £12m in January 2009 - the largest-ever fee paid for a player from the North, Central American and Caribbean zone.

It was Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who helped give Palacios his break in English football. After a trial at Arsenal, Wenger recommended him to then-Birmingham manager Steve Bruce, who brought the player on loan from Olimpia and before re-signing him shortly after taking over at Wigan.

He was introduced to football by his father Eulogio, who played for the Honduran club Le Mercedes before setting up a soccer school that all of his sons (including Johnny Palacios, who is also in the squad) attended.

Wilson is convinced his schooling in Honduras has helped him in the Premier League: “In Honduras, football is very raw, very strong, but there is plenty of technique to it as well. The blend of technique and toughness suits the Premier League very well.”

The body of his 16-year-old brother, Edwin Rene, was found in a mountainous area of Honduras in May 2009, 18 months after he was kidnapped from the family home by an armed gang.

Police say the family paid a ransom but the teenager was never released. Two men reportedly confessed to the killing. 'It was extremely tough for me and I did come close to retiring,' Palacios says of the tragedy.