He's caught the eye of renowned midfielder Roy Keane, commanded a £3m transfer fee and featured in an FA Cup final.
Huddersfield Town boss Chris Powell said he wanted to add experience to his squad ahead of the new Championship campaign.
And he’s got it in the shape of seasoned engine-room operator Dean Whitehead.
The 33-year-old former Middlesbrough man is Powell’s first summer recruit and only his second permanent signing after striker Ishmael Miller, brought in from Blackpool at the end of the January transfer window.
Former Oxford United, Sunderland and Stoke City player Whitehead had been at Boro for two years.
In pictures: Dean Whitehead
He moves on a free transfer after his contract at the Riverside Stadium ran out.
Just last month, he trod the Wembley turf as Boro suffered Championship play-off final heartbreak at the hands of Norwich City.
That was the 557th senior game of his career.
Last season, he played 25 times, deputising at right-back and providing midfield cover for former Town man Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter.
That flexibility is also appealing to Powell as he tries to compete with divisional rivals who have far more spending power.
Dean Whitehead in 2014/15
21
Appearances
0
Goals
4
Yellow cards
1
Red cards
League only
Whitehead started all three of Boro’s play-off matches (they beat Brentford over two legs in the semi-finals) and wore Boro’s colours 63 times in all.
Now, in his own words, he has moved onto his next challenge.
Whitehead started out in the juniors at his local non-league team Abingdon Town, but was snapped up by nearby Oxford.
His debut in a home Football League Trophy win over Luton Town in December 1999 was the first of 136 games for the Us.
Whitehead weighed in with nine goals (he has a career tally of 29) before a £150,000 switch to Sunderland, then of the Championship and managed by Mick McCarthy, 11 years ago.
In pictures: The players linked with Huddersfield Town so far this summer
He twice won promotion to the Premier League, being voted players’ player of the year in 2005 and skippering the side under Keane in 2007.
Sunderland finished first in both campaigns.
Stoke came calling in August 2009, by which time he had made 200 Sunderland appearances.
The Potters paid £5m and Whitehead was a key cog in Tony Pulis’ high-octane side.
Whitehead’s 158 games for Stoke included the 2011 FA Cup final, won by Manchester City, and eight in the following season’s Europa League.
After four top-flight campaigns by the Trent, he headed for the Tees two years ago.
Now he’s ready to follow in the footsteps of old Boro teammate Jacob Butterfield and switch from red to blue and white stripes.
