 Woodhouse began his football career at York City 's centre of excellence in 1994 , before being transferred to Sheffield United for an initial compensation fee of £ 2 @,@ 200 . Sheffield United and York City later agreed on an additional £ 15 @,@ 000 fee plus a five @-@ percentage sell @-@ on clause . He made his debut for Sheffield United at the age of 17 , coming on as a 79th @-@ minute substitute in a 1 – 0 home win against Crewe Alexandra in the First Division on 29 November 1997 . He made a total of nine First Division appearances in the 1997 – 98 season . Woodhouse holds the record for being the club 's youngest ever captain , aged 19 . He earned a call @-@ up to the England under @-@ 21 team , and made his debut in a 2 – 2 away draw against Hungary on 27 April 1999 . He went on to earn another three caps against Sweden , Bulgaria and Poland in England 's 2000 European Under @-@ 21 Championship qualifying group . He made a total of 104 appearances in the Football League , scoring six goals , before being sold to Birmingham City for £ 1 million in February 2001 . 
