Tom is a very talented midfielder, who is one of several graduates from the Crystal Palace Academy from recent years and his performances for the Eagles have seen him rated as one of the Championship's most promising players.

He can operate as a central midfielder or on both flanks, where his pace, skill and tenacity make him a popular choice although he admits himself that his favoured position is through the middle.

His various qualities were quickly noted by former Palace boss Iain Dowie, who called him up to the first team squad and gave him a debut against Gillingham in February 2004 when he was still just 17-years-old after a number of exciting performances in the reserve and youth teams.

Soares then had more of a taste of things when he was regularly called upon in the Premiership and more than held his own against established stars in the top flight. Despite regularly rubbing shoulders with the likes of Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane, at no point did he look overawed even though he was still a teenager.

Tom's all action displays in the Palace midfield sufficiently impressed England Under 21 and eventual Eagles manager Peter Taylor, who called him into his squad for the Toulon tournament in the summer of 2005.

Reading-born Tom has continued to impress in the Championship and was a virtual ever present throughout the 2005/06 campaign, putting in a number of good performances and getting more and more of that all-important experience.

He was also a regular under Taylor in 2006/07 and netted some important goals along the way, including a stunning solo effort against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in October.

Soares scored the first goal of Neil Warnock's reign at Blackpool in October 2007 and has kept his place in the side under Taylor's predeccessor.