Tony Blair picked out Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque as one of his favourite Premier League players during his appearance on Football Focus this lunchtime.

The Prime Minister, appearing on the BBC show in the wake of fevered speculation about his future, namechecked the French midfielder when asked by host Manish Bhasin to name his unsung heroes in the top division.

Blair described Malbranque as ‘a really, really good player – fantastic’.