Crewe Alexandra launched the career of future West Ham star - Norwich City bankrolled Railwaymen for his services | OneFootball

Dean Ashton is a great example of a footballing 'what could've been'

Crewe Alexandra have had a real pipeline of talent playing for them over the years.

The likes of David Platt, Danny Murphy and Robbie Savage have all plied their trade at Gresty Road down the years, despite Alex only having a couple of brief spells in the second tier.

One of the men though who will always be remembered with a sense of pride in that particular part of Cheshire though is Dean Ashton. The Swindon-born striker spent his youth in the small Cheshire village of Holmes Chapel, which is where Alex first took a liking to him.

And, very quickly after signing his first pro contract with Crewe, Ashton really started to make an impact in the first team at Gresty Road.

Ashton was sensational for Alex

At the tender age of only 16, Ashton became one of the youngest players to make their debut for Crewe - coming on as a substitute late in an October win over Gillingham in the 2000/01 season.

Later that season he was to play a vital role, scoring crucial goals against the likes of Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers and Gillingham in order to secure safety in Division One.

His second season - in which the Railwaymen were relegated - was disrupted by injury, but he still reached double figures in goals and also won caps at international youth level for England.

He made a real impact in the Division Two, however, and he scored 16 in that 2002/03 campaign as Alex won promotion back to the First Division at the first time of asking - with this often considered the heyday of being a Crewe Alexandra supporter.

Many were perhaps questioning if Ashton could translate his prolific nature into the second tier ahead of their return, but he certainly proved the doubters wrong, scoring 19 league goals and earning an England U21 call-up, with that leading to speculation of interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He was to have one more season in the red and white of Crewe, as he smashed in 20 goals in the first half of the 2004/05 season to help Alex yet again preserve their second tier status. However, by this point, other clubs were circling, and they found the price too good to turn down in the end.

The rest of Ashton's career is a case of 'what might've been'

That was as a club-record offer of £3m was put on the table by Norwich City, who were able to prize the promising striker from Cheshire to Norfolk. Alex were very good in the negotiations, as they inserted a 20% sell-on clause, which led to them getting a windfall when he later joined West Ham United.

Upon joining the Premier League Canaries in January 2005, he was immediately embroiled in a fight for survival - but one that he more than relished, as Ashton scored crucial goals against the likes of Newcastle United and Birmingham City. Unfortunately for him though, they were relegated - but he stuck around to score a couple of big goals at the start of the 2005/06 season.

By this point, it felt as if the entire Premier League bottom half were interested in Ashton, but it was West Ham who got their man in January - signing him for an initial fee around £7m.

He set the ground running early in East London, and scored six goals in 16 appearances during his first half-season with the club, including in the FA Cup final against Liverpool in Cardiff.

However, whilst on senior England duty in the summer of 2006, Ashton suffered a broken ankle in training that led to him missing the entirety of the 2006/07 season. After doubting that he would return to top class football, he did in time for the 2007/08 season, where he scored 11 goals in 35 league and cup games for the Hammers.

He signed a new five-year contract in the summer of 2008 and scored both goals in a home win over Wigan Athletic. However, after spraining his troubled ankle in Gianfranco Zola's first training session, Ashton unfortunately had to cut his career short, aged only 29.

It was news that somewhat surprised the football world, but would've been particularly devastating to those of a Crewe persuasion, who were instrumental in Ashton's development.