The mobile England midfielder found it hard to settle in Newcastle and when he became available, both Arsenal and Spurs were linked with the player, but it was Martin Jol who was the successful purchaser of a talented young man.
Ever since breaking into the Nottingham Forest side as a 17 year old, Jenas has attracted admirers. Athletic and dynamic, his box-to-box play makes him an effective midfielder in the modern game. With a number of clubs chasing him when Forest were in need of cash, Spurs were pipped to his signature by Newcastle United, who paid £5 million for him. Ironically, he had been named as captain of Forest at the age of 18, but only took the armband for one match before he moved to Tyneside.
Initially, he fitted into the Geordie team well, having been the club's youngest captain at the age of 21 years and nine months, but having been played out of position and he was unhappy with life at St. James' Park. He claimed that living in the city was like "living in a goldfish bowl" and voiced his desire to leave Newcastle. It appeared that Tottenham would not need him as they had a surfeit of midfielders at the time, but with other clubs expressing their lack of interest, Spurs had a clean run to sign the player for between £7 million and £8 million (depending which reports you read).
Becoming an established part of Sven Goran Eriksson's England side, Jenas adds quality to the Tottenham midfield and became the inevitable successor to Edgar Davids. However, with Steve McClaren taking over as England manager, Jenas found himself out of favour at international level. Then came Martin Jol's departure, with new Head Coach Juande Ramos deploying JJ in a freer role, between the two boxes and the increased fitness and belief the Spaniard instilled in Jenas has paid dividends. Revelling in his new role, he has become a frequent goalscorer and has put in a series of impressive performances, earning a recall to the England side, now under a new manager Fabio Capello.
Perhaps the epitome of his return to form was the stamina he showed in extra time of Tottenham's 2-1 victory in the League Cup Final over Chelsea. Still full of running at both ends of the field, he played a major part in the win and has shown that he might have found the right place to show off his abilities to their best effect.