.jpg) Jenas in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jermaine Anthony Jenas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-02-18)18 February 1983 (age 42) | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2001 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2002 | Nottingham Forest | 29 | (4) |
| 2002–2005 | Newcastle United | 110 | (9) |
| 2005–2013 | Tottenham Hotspur | 155 | (21) |
| 2011 | →Aston Villa (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | →Nottingham Forest (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | (4) |
| Total | 341 | (39) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999 | England U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2000 | England U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2001 | England U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | England U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | England U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2006 | England B | 2 | (1) |
| 2003–2009 | England | 21 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jermaine Anthony Jenas (/ˈdʒiːnəs/JEE-nəs;[3] born 18 February 1983) is an Englishtelevision presenter, football commentator and former professionalfootballer. He played as acentral midfielder for English club sidesNottingham Forest,Newcastle United,Tottenham Hotspur,Aston Villa, andQueens Park Rangers, scoring a career total of 39 goals from 341 league appearances. He also appeared 21 times for the seniorEngland national football team, scoring one goal.
Jenas made his professional debut at age 17 for his boyhood club Nottingham Forest who were playing in the second tier, before moving toPremier 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 namedPFA 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 theFootball League Cup in the 2007–08 season. While with Tottenham, he travelled with England to the2006 FIFA World Cup but was an unused substitute; he played his last England match in 2009.
The latter part 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 continued beyond retirement, including for theBBC onMatch of the Day, as well asBT Sport. He also co-presentedThe One Show for the BBC from 2020 until his dismissal in 2024 for inappropriate behaviour.[4]
Jenas was born inNottingham to a white mother and British-Jamaican father.[5][6] His father Dennis was born with the surname Genas but had it changed bydeed poll as he wanted the initials "D. J.".[7]
Dennis also played semi-professionally with Leicestershire non-league sideShepshed Charterhouse in the 1980s.[8] He grew up on a council estate[9] and was educated at the CatholicBecket School inWest Bridgford,Nottinghamshire.[10] 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".[10]
Jenas began his career atNottingham Forest, then in the First Division. He made his debut aged 17 on 7 January 2001, starting in a 1–0 home defeat toWolverhampton Wanderers in theFA Cup. One week later, again as a starter, he played his first league game, and was replaced byDavid Freeman in the 68th minute of a 3–0 home defeat toCrystal Palace, his only other game of the season.[11]
In the2001–02 season, Jenas became a regular and scored his first senior goal on 18 August in a 2–1 defeat atBarnsley. After four goals in 33 games across all competitions, Jenas was sold toNewcastle United for £5 million in February 2002.[12]
In 2002 Jenas joinedNewcastle 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 afterRobbie Keane.[13] 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 YoungEuropean Footballer of the Year award winner and Portuguese internationalHugo Viana for £8.5 million.[14] 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[14] held in Switzerland.
In the 2001–2002 football season, Jenas played 12 games for Newcastle United[15] and Newcastle United qualified for the2002–03 Champions League. In his first full season with Newcastle he won the 2002–03PFA Young Player of the Year award.[16] In the 2002–03 season he managed to play 32 games in the Premier League and scored 6 goals.[15] Jenas failed to repeat his initial form with the club and his two subsequent seasons were disappointing considering his early promise; he was known for his strong "box-to-box" play and ability to score from midfield. In the 2003–04 season Jenas played 31 Premier League games and scored 2 goals.[15] In the 2004–05 season Jenas played 31 games Premier League games and scored one goal.[15] Despite temporarily regaining his form and gaining the vice-captaincy under new managerGraeme Souness early in the2004–05 season, Jenas' form dipped again with only two goals in 48 appearances. He scored a total of 12 goals in 152 appearances for Newcastle.
At Newcastle United he played alongside international footballers such as,Laurent Robert,Gary Speed,Alan Shearer,Shay Given,Nolberto Solano,Patrick Kluivert andKieron Dyer. In his first three seasons at Newcastle, Newcastle played in European football; twice in the Champions League, in seasons2002–03,2003–04 and twice in the UEFA Cup in seasons2003–04 after failing at a group stage in the Champions League, and for the2004–05 UEFA Cup his last season at Newcastle. Jenas also won 14 of his 21 caps for England when with Newcastle United.[17] On 31 August 2005 at the age of 22, Newcastle United accepted an offer of £7 million for him from Tottenham Hotspur.
Rumours of Jenas' unhappiness were confirmed early in the2005–06 season by manager Graeme Souness, when he said that Jenas was not enjoying life at Newcastle, and the player reportedly compared life at the club to living "in a goldfish bowl". He was subsequently sold toTottenham Hotspur on transfer deadline day – 31 August – for an initial fee of £7 million.[18] Throughout the season, Jenas netted seven goals from midfield as Tottenham qualified for theUEFA Cup. He marked his return from a 13-match absence through injury by scoring the second goal in Tottenham's 3–1 FA Cup fourth round win overSouthend United.
Jenas signed a new five-year deal with Tottenham on 29 August 2007, keeping him at the club until 2012.[19]UnderJuande Ramos, Jenas' form improved greatly and he initially produced occasional impressive performances, partly due to the new regime but also from some personal words of encouragement from the Spaniard.[20] Jenas played in the 1–1 draw and the 5–1 victory overrivalsArsenal in both legs of the semi-finals of theLeague Cup, scoring the opening goals in both matches. Jenas set upJonathan Woodgate for the winning goal in the 2–1League Cup final victory overChelsea on 24 February 2008.
At the end of July 2008, Jenas added a one-year extension to his five-year contract, keeping him at Tottenham until 2013. A few days later, he was named as Spurs' new vice-captain following the departures ofRobbie Keane andPaul Robinson. On 26 December againstFulham, Jenas made his 100th league appearance for Tottenham.[21] He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win overWest Bromwich Albion.
On 31 August 2011, Jenas joinedAston Villa on aseason-long loan deal from Tottenham.[22] He wore the number 8 shirt at Villa, the same number he had while at Spurs.[23] Jenas eventually made his debut for Villa on 5 November, after a series of niggling injuries, coming on as a second-half substitute againstNorwich City. Jenas then came on for his second appearance for Villa on 27 November againstSwansea City, as a 69th-minute substitute for strikerEmile Heskey.[24]
On 3 December, Jenas started his first game for Villa againstManchester United. While playing, he tripped over his own feet and suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon injury in a game that saw him,Shay Given andJavier Hernández all leave on stretchers. The injury kept him out for six months, effectively ending his spell at the club.[25]
Jenas returned to Tottenham following his surgery, being given the number 21 for forthcoming2012–13 season. On 28 September 2012, Jenas signed a month-long emergency loan deal with former club Nottingham Forest.[26] He scored his first goal of his loan spell away atBarnsley in a 4–1 win. On 1 November, Forest announced that Jenas' loan had been extended until January 2013[27] although his final appearance was on 17 November in a home win againstSheffield Wednesday. In the six games he played on loan, Forest did not lose any (with a record of three wins and three draws).[28]
On the final day of the January 2013 transfer window,Queens Park Rangers signed Jenas on an 18-month contract for an undisclosed fee from Tottenham, to be re-united with former managerHarry Redknapp.[29] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 home victory over Sunderland on 9 March.[30] He scored again in the following game, on 16 March, a 3–2 defeat against Aston Villa.[31] He made a total of 12 appearances for his new club,[32] but was unable to prevent them being relegated with three games to go.[33] After making 28 appearances for QPR in the Championship, Jenas suffered a rupturedanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a training session in April 2014, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.[34] Although his contract expired at the end of the2013–14 season, he remained with QPR during his rehabilitation process.[35]
Jenas played forEngland from the under-15 level right up to the senior team, where he made his debut againstAustralia on 12 February 2003, under managerSven-Göran Eriksson.[36]
Despite struggling with injury towards the end of the 2005–06 season, he recovered sufficiently to be named in the2006 FIFA World Cup squad, but did not play at the tournament. In the first game, he had got as far as getting changed to be brought on as a last-minute substitute, before being thwarted by the final whistle.[36]
His improvement at Spurs earned him a call-up to the England squad forFabio Capello's first game in charge, afriendly againstSwitzerland atWembley Stadium on 6 February 2008; Jenas scored the opening goal in the 40th minute as England won 2–1.[37]
In total, Jenas earned 21 caps at senior level, scoring one goal.[38]
Jenas formally announced his retirement from football on 7 January 2016 onBBC Radio 4'sToday programme, having been unable to recover fully from his knee injury.[38] Looking back on his career in 2014, he cited his PFA award and his League Cup win as his career highlights in terms of personal and team achievements respectively, and detailed his biggest regret as never having been able to play for his boyhood club Nottingham Forest at the highest level.[36] On the question of whether or not he had underachieved in his career given his talent at a young age, he answered "yes and no", arguing that he was happy with what he had done, but that he had been held back both by injuries and the shock of losingBobby Robson as his manager at Newcastle, which "was bigger [to him] than people think it was".[36]
Jenas said that he had played while injured for a few years, simply to be on the pitch because he loved the game, even though it "probably took 10 or 20% out of my play".[36] He also expressed regret at not having got the chance to play at aWorld Cup, describing his relationship with former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson as a "love/hate relationship", given he was the one who gave him his debut, but in his view had not given him a fair chance nor used him properly when he did play him.[36]
After Jenas was released by QPR, he moved into television as a freelance pundit, firstly as an analyst forITV Sport's coverage of the2014–15 UEFA Europa League.[39] In November 2014, he joinedBT Sport where he regularly featured in the studio alongside other pundits to provide analysis on the game.
On 1 April 2022, Jenas was the "Draw Conductor" for the2022 FIFA World Cup draw.[40]
In September 2023, Jenas wrote onTwitter that refereeRobert Jones was a "complete shithouse" and said that all referees were ruining football. After being challenged by a refereeing charity due to his platform as a television pundit, he apologised.[41]
In 2015, Jenas appeared as part ofChannel 4'sTime Crashers, a reality television programme in which celebrities were assigned the tasks of living in different historical eras.[42]
Jenas presented aBBC Three documentary in April 2017 on knife-crime, focusing on his home town of Nottingham.[43] DuringTeenage Knife Wars, he recalled an incident in his youth where he was the victim of a knife-point robbery.[44]
In April 2023,Channel 4 commissionedThe World's Most Expensive Trainers; an upcoming documentary that Jenas will present.[45]
In December 2023, it was announced Jenas would serve as lead presenter for TNT Sports for the UK coverage of theFIA Formula E World Championship starting from the 2023–24 season.[46] Jenas was not retained following his first season and was replaced as lead presenter by long-time pit reporterNicki Shields.[47]
In 2020, Jenas began co-presentingThe One Show onBBC One withAlex Jones.[48] In 2021 Jenas became one of its permanent hosts.[49] In August 2024, Jenas was dismissed by the BBC with immediate effect for inappropriate behaviour, following complaints about messages sent to colleagues.[50][51] He was also dropped by his talent agency,M&C Saatchi Merlin.[52]
Jenas has endorsed the clothing retailerJacamo,[53] and the bookmakerWilliam Hill.[54]
Jenas and his wife Ellie have two daughters together, while he also has a daughter from a previous relationship who lives in the United States with her mother.[53][better source needed] On 8 October 2021, Jenas announced the birth of his son.[55] As of 2014, he lives inHertfordshire.[10] He enjoys cooking.[9]
Jenas and a friend set up the Aquinas Foundation, which offers football tickets to truant students at disadvantaged schools in Nottingham and London if they can achieve a 100% attendance.[10]
In October 2022, Jenas was fined £2,070 and banned from driving for six months for speeding and using his mobile phone in two hands while driving on theM25 motorway in Hertfordshire.[56]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2000–01[57] | First Division | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2001–02[58] | First Division | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 4 | ||
| Total | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| Newcastle United | 2001–02[58] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03[59] | Premier League | 32 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | 41 | 7 | |
| 2003–04[60] | Premier League | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12[b] | 1 | 46 | 3 | |
| 2004–05[61] | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11[c] | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
| 2005–06[62] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 110 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 152 | 12 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2005–06[62] | Premier League | 30 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 7 | |
| 2006–07[63] | Premier League | 25 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6[c] | 1 | 34 | 8 | |
| 2007–08[64] | Premier League | 29 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 7[c] | 0 | 45 | 6 | |
| 2008–09[65] | Premier League | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 39 | 4 | |
| 2009–10[66] | Premier League | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11[67] | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2011–12[68] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012–13[69] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 155 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 202 | 26 | ||
| Aston Villa (loan) | 2011–12[68] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2012–13[69] | Championship | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 2012–13[69] | Premier League | 12 | 2 | — | — | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14[70] | Championship | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |
| Total | 38 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 341 | 39 | 18 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 57 | 2 | 436 | 47 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2003 | 4 | 0 |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 February 2008 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | 18 |  Switzerland | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Tottenham Hotspur
Individual
