KNOW YOUR PLAYER : 4. JERMAINE PENNANT

Jermaine Pennant

Personal information
Full name	Jermaine Pennant
Date of birth	15 Jan 1983
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	173 cm
Club information
Present club	Liverpool
Number	16
Position	Right Winger
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1998-1999 1999-2005 2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2005 2005-2006 2006-Present	Notts County Arsenal Watford (loan) Watford (loan) Leeds United (loan) Birmingham City (loan) Birmingham City Liverpool	0 (0) 12 (3) 9 (2) 12 (0) 36 (2) 12 (0) 38 (2) 0 (0)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 July 06.

Jermaine Pennant (born January 15, 1983 in Nottingham) was Arsenal’s youngest ever first-teamer, at 16 years 319 days, he became an Under-21s international at just 18 against Mexico in May 2001. Spent seasons on loan at Watford and Leeds United before making the permanent move to Birmingham in the summer of 2005 after a successful loan spell.

He is of half-Jamaican descent (as was John Barnes), but has opted to represent England internationally; although he has played at Under-21 level, he has found himself behind David Beckham, Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips in the pecking-order for the right-wing position in the senior team.

Career

Pennant was signed at the age of 15 by Arsenal from Notts County for £2million, a record fee for a trainee at the time, but failed to fulfil his promise amidst a string of disciplinary problems. These included being sent home by England U21 coach Howard Wilkinson for breaking a curfew before an important game against Turkey, and being sent off for punching an opponent in a game against Poland under-21s. He is now too old to be eligible for England U21s, meaning he is unable to add to his tally of 24 caps, the fourth-highest in history.

Pennant's career seemed promising following his move to Arsenal. He scored a hat-trick on his full FA Premier League debut, against Southampton in May 2003; these were also his only Arsenal league goals. However, he did not manage to secure a regular place in the Arsenal side; Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger appeared to have lost patience with Pennant, who had a history of turning up late to training. Pennant spent spells on loan to Watford, Leeds United, and later Birmingham City, before signing permanently with the Brums in April 2005. In the 2005–2006 English Premier League Season, Birmingham City were relegated to the Championship.

Following speculation throughout the summer, on the 26th July 2006, it was confirmed that Liverpool had completed the signing of Pennant from Birmingham on a 4 year contract for a fee of £6.7 million. It is understood that Arsenal will receive around 25% of the fee.

Honours

England U21: 24 (0)