Soccer Central

Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has joined Portsmouth on loan until the end of the season. He’ll now be reunited with former Liverpool forward Peter Crouch, and Tony Adams will be hoping that Pennant can really settle in well at Fratton Park.

Jermaine Pennant’s career actually began in the Notts County youth system, playing for the club up until the age of 15 when he was then signed by Arsenal for £2 million, at the time making him the most expensive trainee ever. Pennant only made a handful of appearances during his six years at Arsenal, and failing to live up to the promise that had led Arsene Wenger to pay so much money for him at such a young age; he was loaned out to Watford, Leeds, and Birmingham, before joining Birmingham on a permanent basis in 2005.

Pennant spent just one season with Birmingham before Liverpool snapped him up for £6.7 million, and despite recent interest in the player from such clubs as AC Milan and Real Madrid; Pennant has remained with Liverpool, and has now been allowed to move out on loan to Portsmouth.

This loan move to Portsmouth will provide Jermaine Pennant with an opportunity to prove what he can do in the Premier League, and he’ll surely be hoping to show Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez exactly what he’s been missing in keeping him out of first team action at Anfield this season.

Despite interest from other clubs; Jermaine Pennant has declared that he’d like to stay at Liverpool, and is more than happy to compete for a place in the first team. It would seem that he doesn’t currently figure in Rafa Benitez future plans for the club, if Pennant can play well at Portsmouth however then it may just be enough to change Benitez’ mind.

So until the end of the season at least; Jermaine Pennant is now a Portsmouth player, and he’ll now be looking to impress at Fratton Park, and prove himself in Hampshire. 26 year-old Jermaine Pennant is a very good player, and now is the time to get his career back on track as he spends the second half of the 2008/09 season on loan at Portsmouth.

Arsenal’s 19 year-old right back Abu Ogogo is all set to extend his loan stay at League Two’s Barnet. Having joined Barnet in November 2008, Ogogo returned to Arsenal the other week due to a stomach muscle strain, but will now remain at Barnet until the end of the season.

Abu Ogogo’s loan extension is expected to be officially confirmed this coming Friday, and the player is currently still recovering from the stomach muscle strain which saw him return to the Emirates last week.

Barnet currently sits 21st in the league with just 20 points from 25 games; were it not for the pre-season points deductions that Bournemouth, Rotherham, and Luton faced, then Barnet would currently be second bottom and in the relegation zone. As it stands, Barnet still runs the risk of facing relegation this season, and Abu Ogogo will therefore be hoping to help the club stay up in League Two this year.

So Abu Ogogo will soon extend his stay at the Underhill Stadium, and the Arsenal man will continue to play his trade at the club until the end of the season. This is fantastic news for Barnet, and with Ogogo already having made seven appearances for the club, helping Barnet out with a goal in the process, he’ll surely be making many more before the end of the 2008/09 campaign.