When this newspaper published the Premier League team of the first half of the season as judged by its readers, the identity of the player with the highest rating of all came as something of a surprise. Stuart Holden was only just making a name for himself in Bolton, never mind the rest of the country, but Guardian readers were in good company. David Moyes, Mick McCarthy and Owen Coyle only required a brief glimpse of the American in action to be convinced he would make it in England, and all three played a part in helping Holden overcome a series of setbacks to succeed.

"I wouldn't say I have made it yet," the 25-year-old midfielder says modestly at Bolton Wanderers' fog-bound training ground. "It's nice to get some recognition, but in some ways I still feel I am only just starting out."

Holden is in his second spell in England, the first, at Sunderland, having come to naught six years ago through no fault of his own. The club getting promoted was bad enough, he was still waiting to make his Championship debut without the added pressure of a step up to the Premier League, but what sealed his fate was an unprovoked attack in a late night Newcastle taxi queue that left him with a fractured eye socket. Holden had impressed McCarthy, his manager, in a six-month stay, but he was left with little option but to return to the United States and resume his career with Houston Dynamo.

"David Moyes and Alan Irvine put in a good word for me initially," he says. "They saw me in the Milk Cup in Ireland with the US Under-20 squad and offered me a trial at Everton. They were flying high in the league at that time and didn't have an immediate place in the squad for me, but said I had done well and recommended me to Sunderland. I'll always be grateful for Mick McCarthy giving me the opportunity. The reason it didn't work out was a combination of my unfortunate injury and the team getting promoted."

Holden, who holds a British passport as a result of being born and brought up in Aberdeen, performed well enough for Houston to break into the USA national side but, after four years back in Texas, his dream of playing in England was beginning to fade. Then a call came that unexpectedly brought him closer to home than he could ever have imagined. His parents moved to Texas when he was 10 but his paternal grandparents have always lived in Hindley, a small town between Bolton and Wigan. Naturally they followed his career in America but Holden now plays his football so close to where his family is from that his grandfather can pop along to watch him.

"My grandpa comes to every game he can," Holden explains. "He really likes his football and he offers me a critique after every match. I love that. I'm proud of my heritage and remember my upbringing in Scotland but I have spent the majority of my life in the States, all my teen years and the years I most vividly remember, so I feel that's my country. That's home, that's where I imagine I'll be heading back to once this English adventure is over. I represented the United States at international level and I'm proud every time I put on the American shirt. If I could plan my career ahead, which is something I've already learned you can't really do, I would play football in England until I retire then return home to start a family. For the moment though, it's really nice to have my grandparents and my cousins so close. I wasn't expecting that."

Coyle was the Burnley manager when he offered Holden a trial after seeing him on TV. "The gaffer had seen me playing against the [Los Angeles] Galaxy, it was a semi-final and I had quite a good game," Holden says. "Owen Coyle told my agent he liked me but said he'd need to see me train for a week with the team before doing a deal. So I got on a plane, 1 January last year, to head for Burnley. I got to my hotel and discovered training was not going to take place because of snow. The following day, still snowed in, I found out the gaffer had left Burnley for Bolton.

"I didn't quite know what to do next. My agent was trying to get Owen Coyle on the phone, to find out what was going on, everything was suddenly in limbo. I didn't know if my trial was on or off. I knew the gaffer liked me as a player but I didn't know if he'd want me around on day one at Bolton. He did, though, and his first day at Bolton was mine too. As he was introducing himself to the players he introduced me to them as well. I just went along with it, I don't know what the guys were thinking, but I knew I had to work hard and make a good impression, so that's what I did. After a couple of weeks I was offered a short-term contract and everything went from there."

It went far from smoothly. Holden had just managed to break into the Bolton side when, playing a friendly against Holland in March as part of the USA World Cup preparations, an ill-judged tackle of the type that earned Nigel de Jong the nickname "Lawnmower" left him with a broken leg. That not only put back his Bolton progress, it left him struggling to make the World Cup. He was picked for the squad but only managed a few minutes as a substitute in the opening game against England. He had not fully recovered and was beginning to think luck would always be against him.

"The night I got the result of the x-ray I just remember thinking: 'Not again'," he says. "I had just played my first game for Bolton. I seemed destined to suffer a major setback every time I was playing well enough to get noticed. I was really down but the next morning the gaffer called me when I was flying back to England and told me the club intended to pick up the option on my contract for a further year. For me that was a big lift."

Holden is now almost as close to De Jong as he is to his grandparents, though only in a geographical sense. "I had a thigh strain when we played Man City so I haven't played against him since the injury," he says. "We exchanged a few words when we both did a charity event a couple of months ago but sorry was not among them. My leg was never spoken about. It's up to him whether he wants to apologise, I have had to put the matter behind me. It's better to move on than hold grudges. I would not accuse him of intentionally trying to break my leg, I would just describe it as a reckless tackle. There was a lot of controversy, but you do get reckless tackles in football sometimes."

Like De Jong himself, Holden plays with a robustness that belies his size. He hardly conforms to the perceived Bolton stereotype yet has quickly become a crowd favourite at the Reebok despite, or maybe because of, his lack of height and muscle. Surprisingly slight of frame, no one would ever mistake him for a rugby player. "I might be small but I'm not afraid of tackling or getting about the field," he says. "I like to get on the ball and pass it quickly, and you don't need to be the biggest of guys to do that. As long as you are tactically aware and strong when you go into a challenge you can compete at this level."

The challenge of playing against some of the best teams in the world has inspired him to put in performances that have caught the attention of many. Another tough test awaits against Chelsea on Monday. "I have always supported Manchester United and playing against greats like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs was amazing. You don't forget you are up against top players, but at the same time you must regard it as an opportunity to showcase your own ability. We'll be hoping to play in the same way against Chelsea, get them on the back foot if we can. As a player the Premier League is the environment you want to be in. You have great fans, great atmosphere, even the climate is perfect. It might not be so good for living in, but it's just right for running around on grass."