Arsenal extend Carl Jenkinson contract and loan him back to West Ham
According to The Telegraph, Arsenal right-back and English U-21 international Carl Jenkinson has agreed a five-year contract with Arsenal but will spend the next season on loan to West Ham United. The deal is expected to be sealed in the next 24 hours as per the report.
Jenkinson was on the radar for a number of clubs this transfer season which included Sunderland, West Ham and Southampton, willing to sign him on loan, but the Hammers won the race to get the player’s signature.(ESPN-FC) The contract is valid till 2020 on an increased wages £45,000-per-week, Dailymail reports.
The talented right-back had spent last season on loan to West Ham and excelled under Sam Allardyce having made 29 Premier League starts for the London-based club.
West Ham United’s chairman David Gold had earlier stated West Ham’s desire to re-sign the right-back on a season-long loan.Gold said “We are very working hard to try and get Carl back here.” He added, “We recognise this is an important season for us and being in Europe we will go the extra mile to ensure we have got the strongest possible squad we can muster.” as quoted by Dailymail.
My target is to keep Jenkinson: Wenger
Earlier in May, Arsene Wenger had expressed the intention of keeping the right-back at Emirates but insisted he should get some experience under his belt, as his place in the starting XI is not certain by the presence of Hector Bellerin and Mathieu Debuchy.
West Ham were reportedly interested in taking Jenkinson to Upton Park permanently, but Wenger made sure that he remains an Arsenal player.
Speaking in May, the Gunner's manager said “I met Carl this week to speak about his future. We will sit down together at the end of the season, but my target is to keep him here at the club.”
“He needs experience. Carl is a young, very promising right back with top quality and he had a good year where he has really moved forward. It’s important that he has a good chance to play if he comes back.” he said on the Arsenal official website.
New West Ham boss, Slaven Bilic won the race to get the English under-21 international at Upton Park, beating interests from Ronald Koeman of Southhampton who is keen to replace Nathaniel Clyne, who finally completed his move from St. Mary’s to Liverpool for £12.5million.