Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and Queens Park Rangers, scoring a career total of 39 goals from 341 league appearances. He also appeared 21 times for the senior England national football team, scoring one goal.
A promising talent, Jenas made his professional debut at age 17 for his boyhood club Nottingham Forest who were playing in the second tier, before moving to Premier League club Newcastle United for £5 million just over a year later, where he earned his first senior England cap in February 2003 aged 19 and was named PFA Young Player of the Year for the 2002–03 season. Hampered by several serious injuries, Jenas failed to reach the career heights expected of him, although he remained at the top level, moving to Tottenham in 2005 for £7 million, with whom he won the Football League Cup in the 2007–08 season. While with Tottenham, he travelled with England to the 2006 FIFA World Cup but was an unused substitute; he played his last England match in 2009.
The tail end of his playing career saw loan spells at Aston Villa in the Premier League in 2011 and Nottingham Forest in the second tier in 2012, before a permanent move to struggling Premier League club Queens Park Rangers in the January 2013 transfer window. Relegated with QPR in May, he played for much of the following season before injury finally forced his retirement. While still recuperating from his final injury, he moved into media work as a pundit, a role which he has continued beyond retirement, most recently for the BBC on Match of the Day, as well as BT Sport. He also began co-presenting The One Show for the BBC in 2020.
Early life and education
Jenas was born in Nottingham and is of mixed Afro-Caribbean and English descent. His father Dennis was born with the surname Genas but had it changed by deed poll as he wanted the initials "D. J.". Dennis also played semi-professionally with local side Shepshed Charterhouse in the 1980s. He grew up on a council estate and was educated at the Catholic Becket School in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire . According to Jenas, there was "a lot of racism, not only thrown towards me, but also my mum, about my dad and about me, on the street".
Club career
Nottingham Forest
Jenas began his career at Nottingham Forest, then in the First Division. He made his debut aged 17 on 7 January 2001, starting in a 1–0 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup. One week later, again as a starter, he played his first league game, and was replaced by David Freeman in the 68th minute of a 3–0 home defeat to Crystal Palace, his only other game of the season.
In the 2001–02 season, Jenas became a regular and scored his first senior goal on 18 August in a 2–1 defeat at Barnsley. After four goals in 33 games across all competitions, Jenas was sold to Newcastle United for £5 million in February 2002.
Newcastle United
In 2002 Jenas joined Newcastle United from Nottingham Forest. Newcastle United, investing in youth, paid a transfer fee of £5 million for Jenas and he became the second most expensive teenager in British football after Robbie Keane. His club transfer record for a teenager lasted for months when, in the following preseason, Newcastle United broke the club record, and the then British record for a teenager, in signing the 2002 Young European Footballer of the Year award winner and Portuguese international Hugo Viana for £8.5 million. After the 2001–2002 season Jenas first experienced international tournament football, when, being in the England squad, he was involved in the U21 European Championships held in Switzerland.