JOSE FONTE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

SaintMike Sat 01 May 2010, 8:44 am

José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born 22 December 1983 in Penafiel, Portugal), defender. He is the older brother of former Arsenal striker Rui Fonte, who he has played with during his brother's loan spell at Palace. Their father, Artur Fonte, played in the Portuguese first division, with Penafiel.

Playing career
Sporting Lisbon
José began his career at the Sporting Lisbon youth teams, but didn't make to the first squad so he signed for Salgueiros for the 2003–04 season. The club was in great financial difficulties so Fonte terminated his contract and moved to F.C. Felgueiras where history repeated itself. In the 2005–06 season, Fonte signed with Vitória de Setúbal, before joining giants Benfica in January 2006. He was immediately loaned out to Paços de Ferreira for the remainder of that season to get first-team football and then to Estrela da Amadora the following season for more first-team football.

Crystal Palace
Fonte then moved on loan to Crystal Palace in London, to be nearer to Rui. This looked to be an ill-judged move, with chances were few and far-between, until injuries in the Palace defence gave Fonte a run in side. He impressed fans and pundits alike with some strong performances both at the back and as a makeshift striker when required, which lead to the deal being made permanent at the end of the season.

Fonte's technical ability impressed the Palace management to such a degree that the club were persuaded to sign Rui on loan from Arsenal, in the hope that he would display the same ability as his older brother.

Southampton
Fonte signed for Southampton on 9 January 2010 for a fee which is believed to be in the region of £1.2 million and on a three and a half year contract. He made his debut on 16 January playing alongside two other recent signings, Jon Otsemobor and Danny Seaborne, in a 1–1 draw at Millwall.