World Cup 2014: Player profile - Wilson Palacios, the Honduras midfielder

Counting down the 100 players to look out for in Brazil this summer

Wilson Palacios of Honduras (GETTY IMAGES)

The World Cup in Brazil is coming into view and everyone is hoping this summer's carnival can take its place among some of the great tournaments of the past, but who will be the star of the show?

With 71 days to go until things kick-off, check out our latest instalment of 100 players to look out for at the competition below.

71. Wilson Palacios (Honduras)

After a blistering start to this 29-year-old’s career in his native Honduras at Olimpia where he scored 32 goals in 102 appearances, a move to England soon followed when he signed for Midlands club Birmingham on loan. However, limited to just seven starts in for the Brummies’ he soon moved north to Wigan – where he would begin to attract the interest of the top Premier League clubs after a string of fine displays for the Latics.

In the January transfer window of 2009, he moved back south in the biggest move of his career – signing for Tottenham for a fee of around £12m. He impressed then-Spurs manager Harry Redknapp in his early White Hart Lane career, making 43 appearances in 09/10 season that included the north-London club reaching the Champions League for the first time. Despite being restricted to just 21 appearances in his second season at the club, he played a huge part in their run to the quarter finals amongst Europe’s elite. He moved to Stoke in 2011, though, and is still at the Britannia now.

He is an integral part of Honduras’ international set up with an abundance of experience, featuring 88 times for his country. They will need him to be at his very best this summer if they’re to go past the group stage for the first time in their history after they were handed a tough draw that includes France, Switzerland and Ecuador.

Did you know? Palacios’s brothers Jerry and Johnny have both played for their country, too.