Forgotten ex-Prem ace who joined Bayern in ‘weirdest transfer ever’ ended up in non-league after injury wrecked dream
HARRY KANE is the Englishman taking Bayern Munich by storm this season.
Twelve years ago, however, it was Dale Jennings trying to make his way as a Brit in Bavaria.
Having been let go by Liverpool as a schoolboy, Jennings joined League One Tranmere.
He burst onto the scene at Prenton Park as a 17-year-old but as impressive as his displays were, even he couldn’t have envisaged what was to come next.
After scoring six goals in 29 appearances from the wing, Jennings attracted interest from German giants Bayern.
He jumped at the opportunity, but a major hurdle quickly became apparent after he completed what was later described as the “weirdest transfer ever”.
Jennings went on to reveal that he failed his medical due to a hernia injury, but his team managed to talk them around.
Years later he told the Leg It Podcast: “I had a hernia on my groin, I was out for three months [after joining Bayern] and then did my other side. Then, I did the ligaments in my ankles. It was a bit of a nightmare of a first year.”
On his medical, he added: “I failed it and they didn’t want to sign me. My agent, he did well, he asked them: ‘You’re the best medical staff in the world, and you’re failing him over a hernia?’ They said, we can look after him, and they put it through.’”
After initial struggles with injuries he settled into Bayern’s second team, but never managed to break into their senior side.
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The closest he came was featuring in a friendly against SpVgg Unterhaching alongside the likes of David Alaba and Rafinha.
In 2013, two seasons into his three-year deal, Jennings decided to call time on his unlikely Bayern dream and come home.
He made a transfer similarly unusual to his previous one, swapping Bayern for Barnsley.
Upon making the move, he told the BBC: “I was a bit gutted not to break into the first team but I learned a lot from my time at Bayern.
“I was only 18 going over there, and it took me six to eight months to get used to it. It’s a very good level, the German style of playing is perhaps the best at the moment.”
On his reasons for leaving, Jennings added: “It’s such a massive club it’s very hard to break through. With a year left I thought it was best to move on.
“I was feeling a bit homesick and to be fair they said what mattered most was my happiness.”
In his first season at Oakwell, the Tykes were relegated from the Championship, sending Jennings back to League One, three years on from leaving Tranmere.
‘FOOTBALL BECAME IRRELEVANT THEN’
He later briefly returned to the second tier with MK Dons, but only featured twice before football understandably took a back seat as his young daughter Mila twice suffered from cancer.
“Football became irrelevant then,” he told The Athletic.
“We went through these horrible two years. She fought that [leukaemia] and got the all-clear and then two months later she was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour in her kidney.
“It was nothing to do with leukaemia – a different type of cancer altogether. By the age of six she’d had cancer twice.
“She has had chemo, radiotherapy and the tumour removed. It’s unbelievable what she’s been through for a little kid.”
In 2018, following brave Mila’s battle, Jennings returned to football in non-league with Runcorn Town.
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He went on to have stints with Ramsbottom United and Prescot Cables, as well as a spell in Wales with Prestatyn Town.
Many have spoken of Jennings’ failure to break through at Bayern, but things could have gone differently.
He claims to have had a “decent career” despite his setbacks, and he’s probably right.