Steven Gerrard tried to sign me for the Liverpool transfer during the Premier League match, and it worked
Jermaine Pennant has revealed that Steven Gerrard once sounded him out about a Liverpool transfer, right in the middle of a Premier League match.
The talkSPORT pundit and former Reds winger played for the Merseyside club between 2006 and 2009, having signed from Birmingham City.
Pennant He had spent a season with the struggling Blues, which ended in an unsuccessful battle for Premier League survival in the 2005/06 season.
But Birmingham had found itself Liverpool – GerardIt is home until 2015, three times that season.
They met twice in the Premier League and once in the sixth round of the FA Cup.
The Reds defeated them in the latter, beating them by seven in a game to forget.
But both top-flight matches ended in draws with Liverpool, then managed by Rafael Benitez – unable to achieve victory Steve Brucefrom the side.
And on one such occasion, a young Pennant caught the eye of one very special Liverpool player in particular.
In fact, it was a moment that led to a hilarious encounter between the two future teammates in the middle of a game.
“(Steven Gerrard) knew I was a good player,” Pennant told talkSPORT. “Because he beat me up half in a game.
“I was playing against Liverpool and he came running up to me during the game and asked me: 'Who's your agent?'
“I said it was Sky Andrew and that was the last thing he said, and I was fooled. So I ran up to him and said 'do you know him?'
“Right now the game goes on,” Pennant said, making the studio laugh as he explained how this all happened during a crucial match for relegation hopefuls Birmingham City.
“The ball went out of the game. He just said to me, 'Who's your agent?' And I was with Sky Andrew at the time and he said “it's okay, boy” and then he ran off.
“My brain is exhausted. I'm thinking 'why is Steven Gerrard asking me this?'
“Steve Bruce is probably watching thinking 'Where's Jermaine going? Why is he veering left? Play right!' But I went to talk to Steven Gerrard!
“So I said, 'Why, do you know him?' Gone, nah, nah, nah. “So I said 'do you want his number?'”
Pennant then laughed as he recalled his cheeky mid-game antics which did, in fact, ultimately culminate in his life being transferred to him.
“And after the game,” he continued. “I called my agent and said, 'Steven Gerrard wants your number. Do you know him? Get his number! Call him!'”
Months after Birmingham's relegation was confirmed, Pennant signed for Liverpool on a four-year deal for an estimated transfer fee of £6.7 million.
He spent three years at the club, although he was loaned to Portsmouth for the final year of his contract.
In that time, they would win the 2006 Community Shield and fall short in the Champions League, losing 2-1 to AC Milan in the final.
But remembering the fateful day of his transfer to Liverpool, Pennant explained that things had happened very quickly.
“It was training and one of the coaches came running,” he recalled. And he tells me 'you better go to the locker room and call your agent.'
“I immediately said, 'Oh my God! I've walked hard because I'm thinking, right? What have you done in the last few months?' And I couldn't remember what it was! So I went into the locker room and called him.
“And he said 'where are you?' I said, 'I'm in the locker room.' He said 'sit down,' and that made things worse.
“So I sat down and he said, 'Okay, get changed. Get ready as quickly as you can and head to Liverpool.'
“And I thought, why?
“(He said) They've made an agreement! I didn't even know they were going to meet. He just said they had made an agreement for me to sign, so get off.
“I didn't even take a shower. I just put my clothes on and left. While I was getting ready, I ran out and said, 'Guys, see you later! All the best for this season.'
“They've just been relegated to the Championship too! I gave Steve Bruce a hug. And he said, 'Where are you going?' I said: 'a medical with Liverpool'. I was furious!”