Arsenal fan favorite and England international Carl Jenkinson signs with League Two side in shock move
Carl Jenkinson has completed a shock move to League Two side Bromley after two years away from English football.
The defender's career began at Charlton Athletic before signing for Arsenal in 2011, where he spent eight years in north London.
Jenkinsonwho has one England cap to his name, he left the Gunners to join Nottingham Forest before moving to Australia, where he played for Melbourne City and Newcastle Jets.
The 2014 FA Cup winner left the latter in the summer and became a free agent, but has now found a new club in Bromley.
“Bromley Football Club are delighted to announce the permanent signing of full-back and former England international Carl Jenkinson following his departure from Australian side Newcastle Jets,” the League Two side said in a statement. surprise announcement on Friday.
Speaking on the move, Jenkinson told club media: “It's fine. I'm glad the whole international clean-up thing has been sorted now and that was dragging on a bit.”
“So I'm very happy that it's settled and dusted now.”
The move sees Jenkinson reunite with Bromley boss Andy Woodman, with the pair previously working together at Charlton.
“I've known Woody since I was a kid at Charlton, he was the first team goalkeeping coach,” the right-back explained.
“So just one of them, when you meet someone, Woody was always very easy to get along with, even when he was a young man like a YTS guy, so I knew Woody pretty well since he was young.
“So obviously you follow your careers and take different paths but he's always been someone I've known, followed what he's done and also what his son (Freddie Woodman, Preston North End goalkeeper) doing as well. .
“That led me to approach Woody a couple of weeks ago and say, 'Can I come in and train?'
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“Because I wanted to stay fit and maintain my fitness, and we have that kind of relationship where I could ask that question, so it was nice that I said yes and then that led to this.”
Jenkinson made 70 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal but was unable to maintain a regular place in their defence.
He had two loan spells at West Ham and another at Birmingham City before leaving the Gunners in 2019.
The defender played just 15 times for Forest and signed a loan deal with Melbourne City in early 2022, where he won the A-League Men Premiership title.
Jenkinson then joined league rivals Newcastle Jets that following summer and spent two years with the Australian team before becoming a free agent.
The 32-year-old is now part of a Bromley team playing their first season in the Football League after promotion to the National League.
Bromley currently sit 18th in League Two with seven points and two wins to their name.
And fans were able to see him in action on Saturday in their clash against MK Dons.
