Director of Football Mario Husillos would be making a pointless mistake if he were to offer Carl Jenkinson another shot at West Ham, after TEAMtalk linked the Irons with a move for the out-of-favour Arsenal defender.
After eight years in North London, it finally seems like the 1-cap England international’s time at the Emirates Stadium is over, as Unai Emery is happy to see the Harlow-born right-back move on after entering the final year of his contract.
The 27-year-old is surprisingly not short of potential suitors, though, as Aston Villa are – thankfully – currently leading the chase for his signature, while Crystal Palace and Norwich City are also interested. The Villains position, however, is thought to potentially reliant on Dean Smith guiding the Birmingham-based outfit back into the Premier League via the Play-Offs.
If they fall short at Wembley against Derby County, then we better hope Husillos is not considering a move for the £2.25million-rated right-back, who spent two years in our kit.
Those years actually returned the second-most appearances for Jenkinson of any spell of his senior career, with 59 outings for Hammers only behind his 70 for Arsenal – despite being at the Gunners since 2011.
Since leaving our ranks three years ago, he moved to Birmingham on loan and found himself out of favour following his return from a lengthy shoulder injury, and absences on the sidelines have stuck with him since returning to London – either through more injuries or just not being the flavour of the month.
It would be hard to imagine Manuel Pellegrini considering the former Finland youth international ahead of Ryan Fredericks, or even Pablo Zabaleta or Ben Johnson, so why Husillos would target him is anyone’s guess.
He did make a few outings for Unai Emery in the recently concluded season, though, in which he averaged a rather underwhelming 1.3 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, and 0.3 blocks per game in three Europa League outings, and 1 tackle, no interceptions and 0.7 clearances in 167 minutes of Premier League action.
