Curtis came through the Manchester United youth set-up and, at the time, was tipped to be a future England captain thanks to his abilities. The full-back played 13 games for United in the league but was sent out on-loan to Barnsley to get more first team experience.
He really got his shot with Blackburn Rovers, making 61 appearances and helping them to promotion to the Premier League. But his second season at Ewood Park was dogged by injuries and, after spending the second half of that season on-loan at Sheffield United, he was released in the summer of 2003 and was snapped up by City on a free transfer.
His time at Leicester, though, was a largely unhappy one. He made just 17 Premier League appearances and moved on to Portsmouth less than a year after signing for the Foxes. Curtis went on to play for Nottingham Forest, QPR and Wrexham. He played for England at U20 and England B level.