There aren’t a great deal of English players to have begun their careers abroad but this summer a number of Europe’s top clubs have begun to cast their eye over just what this country has to offer in the way of young talent.
One of those players is Tranmere Rovers striker Dale Jennings who looks set to complete a dream move to German giants Bayern Munich after the Bavarian club had an offer of around £650,000 accepted for the player.
At just eighteen years old this can only be described as a fairy tale move for the former Liverpool schoolboy. Manager Les Parry said that there was no way the club could stand in his way and this was testament to the job being done by the clubs youth system.
Though Jennings isn’t the first Englishman to join the ranks of the Bundesliga this summer, England U21 Captain and former Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne joined Hamburg for a fee of around £2m at the beginning of the transfer window.
With Jennings set to follow its looks as though the top clubs in Europe are beginning to notice the work being done by youth systems in England and are more willing to give English youngsters a chance to prove themselves abroad.
It’s been something of a whirlwind 12 months for the Liverpool born striker, having only made his debut for the club in September 2010 which was closely followed by his first goal, which helped seal a 1-0 win against Bristol Rovers.
After a number of impressive performances in League One, and in particular a wonder goal against Plymouth Argyle interest in the striker grew. This was confirmed when in the January transfer window an unnamed Premier League club made an offer for his services, though it was rejected.
In March 2011 he was named the League One apprentice of the year at the Football League Awards and was later voted as Tranmere’s Young Player of the Season, an award that is voted for by the Tranmere fans. In all in the 2010/11 season he made 32 appearances and scored 6 goals which obviously enough to convince new Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes of his talent.
With very few young English footballers plying their trade abroad moves for both Jennings and Mancienne demonstrate that top clubs are appreciate the talent that we have to offer in this country and hopefully it won’t be long until other players are given a similar opportunity.
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