Former Newcastle Midfielder Discusses Difficulty Adjusting to Tyneside as a Teenager
Former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas has spoken of the culture shock he underwent when he was uprooted from his home in Nottingham, and 'dragged' to Tyneside - claiming that the new scenery made it difficult for him to settle in the north-east.
Jenas made the switch to the Magpies at when he was only 19-years-old after an impressive first campaign for Nottingham Forest. While his debut season at Newcastle was a success on the pitch, the now 34-year-old has spoken of the struggle he had off it.
The Match of the Day pundit 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."
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His words come as part of a discussion about Harry Kane - who has been heavily tipped to make the move to Real Madrid next summer, and Jenas doesn't seem to think the 24-year-old would adjust too easily:
"He strikes me as a bit of a home boy and being away from where he has been his whole life will be a shock to him."
Kane faces off against Real Madrid on Wednesday night. The striker is expected to start for Spurs despite missing his side's weekend match against Manchester United with a hamstring complaint.
