7) Robert Huth
It’s hard to imagine that 32-year-old Robert Huth actually started his senior career in the 2001/02 season. He was only 17 years old when Claudio Ranieri gave him a debut at Chelsea. But he would slowly start playing more games with the senior squad.
Then came Roman Abramovich followed by Jose Mourinho. With players such as John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and William Gallas above him in the pecking order, Huth was reduced to a bit-part player. And even though he won a Premier League winner’s medal in 2004/05 and 2005/06, he had only made 10 and 13 appearances respectively.
After long stints at Middlesbrough and Stoke City, he soon made the switch to Leicester City where he would be reunited with Ranieri. This time, there was no stopping him from making the starting lineup as he played 35 games in the title-winning campaign – missing out on the other three only because of a retrospective ban.
Huth had even scored three goals – two of which came in the crucial 3-1 win over Manchester City that set them on their way to the title.