Jermaine Jenas joined Newcastle United from Nottingham Forest as a teenager.
Former Newcastle United midfielder Jermaine Jenas has said he struggled for home comforts when he left Nottingham Forest to move to the club in 2002.
The retired star was discussing his experience while warning Tottenham striker Harry Kane about uprooting and moving to Real Madrid.
Jenas made it sound like a switch to Newcastle was not exactly his choice, describing himself as being ‘dragged’ from one club to another.
He said he found it tough to settle in off the pitch as the city was different to his hometown.
He told BBC Sport: “I got dragged out of Nottingham when I was 18 and got sent to Newcastle, which was a culture shock for me at the time.
“There were not many black people in Newcastle at the time so even just small things like being able to get my hair cut – there was no Afro-Caribbean barber shop in Newcastle so I had to go back down to Nottingham to get my hair cut.
“It is little things like that, the comfort things that you go to, are gone, and you have to find a way to adjust.”
Jenas made more than 100 appearances in three years for Newcastle before moving on to sign for Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent the majority of his career, and went on to earn 21 international caps.
Now retired he is a regular pundit on Match of the Day.
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