Carl Jenkinson has signed for Australian side Newcastle Jets permanently from Nottingham Forest.
"Speaking to their official website newcastlejetsfc.com Jenkinson said:“I’m happy to be here and to sign for the Jets. I want to bring the best of myself to the team and try to get the best out of everyone else around me. Having met the lads I can already see it’s a great group and I’m excited to see how far we can go this season with a lot of hard work.“I knew within five minutes of speaking with Arthur he was a manager I wanted to play for. We have a similar outlook on the way the game should be played and I know he has big ambitions for the club moving forwards. I’m excited to be a part of this team and I will give my all to achieve something special here.”"
Jenkinson spent last season in the A-League playing for Melbourne City where he made 27 appearances and scored three goals as he helped them win the division.
𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒍 𝑱𝒆𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒏! Highlights of our latest signing.#BondedByGold #Football pic.twitter.com/d2sEz3gLFL
— NEWCASTLE JETS FC ✈️ (@NewcastleJetsFC) August 2, 2022
Carl Jenkinson’s career so far
The defender started his career at Charlton Athletic where he had loan spells at Eastbourne Borough and Welling before joining Arsenal in 2011.
He played 70 times for the Gunners winning the FA Cup in 2014 and also spent time on loan at West Ham twice and Birmingham City.
Carl Jenkinson then joined Nottingham Forest in 2019 but made just 15 appearances for the club. He seems to have found a home in Australia having spent a successful loan at Melbourne last season.
The one-time England international is only 30 and can look forward to a few years down under. He won the 2021/22 division but is moving to the Jets who finished 9th last season. So will expect a tougher challenge next season.
Is the A-league becoming a new MLS?
A few former Premier League players will be playing in the A-league including Daniel Sturridge who is at Perth Glory, Charlie Austin at Brisbane Roar, Adam Le Fondre plays for Sydney FC and Nani has just signed for Melbourne Victory.
Jenkinson’s new side Newcastle Jets will be remembered by fans of the English league as the club that Emile Heskey played for after Aston Villa.
Just like MLS, signing star names for their teams will help boost the profile of the A-league and hopefully grow the sport in their country.
Other star players to have played in the division are Alessandro Del Piero at Sydney FC, David Villa at Melbourne City, Tim Cahill also at Melbourne City and Harry Kewell at Melbourne Victory.
Living in Australia must be a great experience for these players at the end of their careers and Jenkinson must have enjoyed it to sign there permanently. With many other players who have played in England going out there, it will inspire others to make the move.
The league has a long way to go until it attracts the same star names who have gone to MLS including David Beckham, Kaka and Thierry Henry but it could be the start of the league being as attractive to join as going over to America.