Carl Jenkinson is set to return to his parent club Arsenal, following an injury wrecked loan spell at his current club Birmingham City.
Jenkinson joined the Championship side last season on a one-year loan-spell but dislocated his shoulder on his debut against Reading and is yet to play since.
The Gunners are willing to trigger his release clause in order to find yet another loan move for Jenkinson.
However, considering the fact that Arsenal might run short of right backs in the future with both Mathieu Debuchy and Callum Chambers not being favoured by Arsene Wenger, does Carl Jenkinson have a future at Arsenal?
Since joining from Charlton in 2011, Jenkinson was always a highly rated talent at Arsenal. In fact, he was very quick to make an impact at the Emirates. His rapid progress with the reserves earned him his Premier League debut in 2012 as well earning him an England cap against Sweden in that same year.
However, injuries have been detrimental to his growth as a footballer in recent seasons. While he was definitely bogged down by the sudden breakout of Hector Bellerin at Arsenal, the English fullback of Finnish origin continued his progress in the Premier League.
At the start of the 2014/15 season, Jenkinson was loaned out to West Ham, where he was an important cog in their defensive backline. In his first season with the Hammers, the Englishman helped the club finish in mid-table, featuring in 32 Premier League matches. However, his next season at the Upton Park was full of frustration as injuries deterred his progress. His serious knee injury in 2016 kept him out for almost nine months, missing 61 matches in the process.
His current loan spell at Birmingham has been an absolute disaster so far this season but considering the fact that Arsenal are willing to give him more playtime by shipping him off to another club, still suggests that the Gunners do have plans for the somewhat forgotten English fullback.
Carl Jenkinson still has the ability to make a strong impact at any mid-table Premier League club and teams like Brighton, Huddersfield could all be benefitted by the services of the 25-year-old right back. It will be interesting to see if Arsene Wenger opts to give Jenkinson a chance to shine in Arsenal one last time before sending him off to yet another loan spell.
