The three times-capped England international was reunited with Alan Curbishley when he signed from Newcastle United in a £7m deal in June 2007.

Born and raised in Lambeth, south Londoner, Parker has represented England at each and every level from Under-15s to Steve McClaren's senior side.

Memorably, Parker's talents first came to the attention of the nation when, as a 13-year-old, he displayed his 'keepie-uppie' skills in a TV advert for McDonalds, before graduating from the FA's National School of Excellence at Lilleshall.

After signing for Curbishley's Charlton Athletic as a trainee, he made his senior debut in a goalless draw against Bury in August 1997 and, just two months later, was offered a professional contract at The Valley.

The following season, he made four Premiership appearances for the newly-promoted, roller-coastering Addicks, who were then instantly relegated before making an immediate return to the top-flight as champions in 1999/00.

In a bid to gain more experience, Parker headed to Norwich City in November 2000, where he scored once during a six-game loan spell.

And upon his return to south London, he soon set about establishing himself as a first-team regular, making 145 appearances for the Addicks and scoring ten goals.

Parker's skills also caught the eye of Sven-Goran Eriksson, too, and he was given his international debut in November 2003 in a 3-2 defeat by Denmark at Old Trafford, when he replaced Wayne Rooney midway through the second half.

Two months later, Parker made a protracted £10m move to Chelsea from Charlton and, weeks later, he won his second cap against Sweden before playing in the Blues' Champions League semi-final defeat by Monaco.

Indeed, Parker capped an eventful campaign when he was crowned the 2003/04 PFA Young Player of the Year.

In December 2004, however, he suffered a severe Stamford Bridge setback when he broke a metatarsal bone and that foot injury sidelined him for the remainder of a season that saw Jose Mourinho's men win the Premiership title for the first time in half-a-century.

After scoring a solitary goal in 28 outings for Chelsea, Parker then joined Newcastle United for £6.5m at the start of the 2005/06 campaign and, in January 2006, he scored his first goal for them at Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup fourth round, on his 200th career appearance.

Despite subsequently being awarded the captaincy by former Magpies boss Glenn Roeder on the eve of the 2006/07 campaign, Parker was given the green light to leave Tyneside following the arrival of Sam Allardyce at the end of the season.

And after scoring half-a-dozen goals in 73 league and cup appearances for Newcastle United, he duly became Curbishley's first summer signing when he moved back to his native London in that £7m, five-year deal on 6 June 2007. His first Hammers goal came on 22 December, with a last-minute winner in the 2-1 victory at Middlesbrough although his initial few months in east London were to be hampered by knee problems.