Born on the 21st December 1992, Dale Jennings looked to be a brilliant prospect for the future although things looked to be going from good to bad when he got released as a schoolboy by Liverpool youth academy.
Soon after Jennings got the opportunity and decided to join the Merseyside club Tranmere Rovers. In 2010, Jennings made his professional debut as a second half sub against Charlton Athletic; however it was his goal against Plymouth that helped attract interest from larger clubs with a lot more to offer for the youngster.
Unsurprisingly, Tranmere rejected an offer for Jennings from an unnamed Premier League club (apparently Everton) in the 2011 January transfer window. In March 2011, he was voted League One Apprentice of the Year at the Football League awards. Past winners include Luke James (Hartlepool United) and Jordan Cousins (Charlton Athletic).
In the July of 2011 ,every football fans dream came true and one of the most bizarre transfers took place. The best team in German history Bayern Munich went in for Dale Jennings; they had the idea that he would start off in the reserve team for them and then gradually play for their first team. In late October 2011, Jennings’ move to German league leaders Bayern Munich was hindered after he suffered multiple ligament tears in his knee, side-lining him until March 2012.
After being side-lined for so long, he found it hard to get back into the side. At this point, Championship side Barnsley approached the German champions with a three-year deal for a fee worth around £250,000. Was the best of Dale Jennings to come? Barnsley fans would find out on the first day of the season when he came on as a second half substitute and within the first five minutes of his debut he got a straight red card for an awful tackle.
However after going on loan to MK Dons until January 5th, some Barnsley fans are seeing glimpses of the Dale Jennings that originated with his Tranmere Rovers playing days and brought so much promise.
So the real questions to be asked are why did he agree to go play for Bayern Munich reserves in the first place? Surely he knew even if he got into the first team he’d never even get a game over Franck Ribéry or Arjen Robben. He was arguably the best footballer in League One, in my opinion he should of either stayed at Tranmere Rovers and built his reputation up by climbing the leagues OR sign for that mysterious unnamed Premier League club.
Though I’m not Dale Jennings, I’m sure he was earning a lot and got to live his dream over in Germany, now he’s back in the football league helping Barnsley not get relegated to League One. He’s still young so maybe he’ll become a great footballer like he used to be, you never know, that’s why football is such a beautiful game.
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