Earlier this month, West Ham announced that Carl Jenkinson was to join on loan from Arsenal for a second successive season.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the England international spoke of his happiness at returning to Upton Park and desire to prove himself to new Hammers boss Slaven Bilic:
“To be honest I just wanted to come back here and I’m happy everything’s been sorted out. I’ve got another season here and I can’t wait… I’ve got to come in, show what I can do and prove myself to a new manager. That keeps you on your toes and I’ve got to go and do that in pre-season. I’m looking forward to it.”
THE HISTORY
Jenkinson began his footballing journey at Charlton Athletic in 2010, and was immediately loaned out to Conference South side Welling United. He made 10 appearances for the non-league outfit, and was later sent out on loan to Conference Premier team Eastbourne Borough in November 2010, where he featured four times before returning to the Valley. He made his debut for the Addicks in the Football League Trophy against Brentford, and would go on to make seven more appearances during the 2010/11 season for the then-League One side.
His performances for Charlton persuaded Arsenal to move for the young right-back, signing the defender for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1 million. Jenkinson made his debut for the Gunners in the final qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against Udinese in August 2011, and went on to make nine Premier League appearances during his first campaign at the Emirates, bagging one assist.
An injury to first-choice right-back Bacary Sagna meant Jenkinson started the first five matches of the 2012/13 campaign, and he would go on to make 14 league starts that season, before racking up another 14 appearances during the 2013/14 campaign. The defender would score his fist senior goal for Arsenal on the final day of the season, while he also registered two assists that year.
In order to find regular first-team football, Jenkinson joined West Ham on a season-long loan ahead of the 2014/15 season, and made 29 starts, chalking up two assists. His impressive performances earned the defender a new long-term contract at the Emirates this summer.
Jenkinson picked up his only international cap against Sweden in November 2012, although he has been a regular for the Under-21s and started all three matches in this summer’s European Under-21 Championship.
THE PROSPECTS
After nailing down a regular role for the Hammers last time out, Jenkinson is expected to return to the first XI for the season ahead, with Joey O’Brien providing back-up in light of the club’s decision to release Guy Demel over the summer.
With Bilic looking for a more attack-minded approach than Sam Allardyce, the Hammers full-backs will be expected to offer plenty of support further up the pitch. Coming in at 5.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Jenkinson is cheaper than left-back Aaron Cresswell (5.5), who could well lose some dead-ball duties due to Dimitri Payet’s arrival.
Central defensive trio Winston Reid, James Tomkins and Angelo Ogbonna all come in at 5.0 but it remains to be seen which of the former two will partner the big-money signing from Juventus in the heart of defence. Reid looks favourite but Tomkins has netted twice over the summer already; should either establish themselves as a regular starter, they will challenge Jenkinson as the best 5.0 option available at the back.
Given that Ogbonna only scored one league goal in Italian football since making his debut for Torino in 2006, his appeal could be limited to picking up bonus points through the changes in the Bonus Point System (BPS), which is expected to favour dominant central defenders.
In terms of Jenkinson’s attacking numbers last season, the right-back registered 13 attempts, while he fared better in terms of creating chances, clocking up 22 key passes over the course of the campaign. Southampton duo Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne provided 23 and 22 key passes respectively from a similar number of appearances, highlighting how impressive Jenkinson’s threat down the right flank was for the Hammers in the previous campaign.
Having only just returned to training this week after an extended rest due to his international exertions, Jenkinson is a little behind in his match sharpness; he is also ineligible to face his parent club Arsenal in Gameweek 1.
Following that, though, Jenkinson is handed four very favourable home matches against Leicester, Bournemouth, Newcastle and Norwich over the subsequent six Gameweeks. Given that he’s also away to Liverpool and City over that period, the right-back could prove an ideal candidate for a rotation pairing – a Leicester and West Ham double-up would give a very friendly run (SUN, LEI, BOU, bou, AVL, sto, NOR, nor, cpl, CPL, wat, WAT) over the opening 12 Gameweeks, setting you back 9.5 for the defensive pairing, with the 4.5-priced Robert Huth looking the prime target from the Foxes, given Wes Morgan is currently featuring for Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
