In the summer 2011, Bayern Munich thought they’d pulled off a transfer masterstroke when they snapped up Dale Jennings from Tranmere Rovers.The German giants spent £1.8 million to bring the talented 18-year-old winger to Bavaria.Jennings had made something of a name for himself at Tranmere, winning the League One Apprentice of the Year award in his one full season in the club's first-team.After being released by Liverpool at age 15, the Englishman had earned a move that most young lads could only dream of.But sadly, that dream turned into a bit of a nightmare…

What happened to Jennings after joining Bayern?

Jennings failed to settle in Germany, with injuries and homesickness both seriously hindering his progress.

He didn’t make a single appearance for Bayern’s first-team prior to cutting his stay at the club short in 2013.

Jennings returned to England with Barnsley, where he played 50 games in total and scored six goals.

The Liverpool-born winger was unfortunately released by Barnsley in June 2015, though.

Jennings joined MK Dons that same month, where he made just two appearances before having his contract terminated by mutual consent in February 2016.

Return to football in 2018

Jennings spent over two years without a club before being snapped up by non-league outfit Runcorn Town.

That’s where he remained right up until December 2020, when a switch to Welsh side Prestatyn Town was the order of the day.

However, Jennings failed to make a single appearance for them, as their season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

That resulted in him returning to Runcorn Town in June 2021, before a move to Ramsbottom United in October of that year.

Amazingly, Jennings was off to a new destination that very same month.

At the end of October, he signed for Prescot Cables in the Northern Premier League Division One West.

It’s quite the footballing tale, eh? Jennings has had quite the fall from grace, but fair play to him for battling back and restarting his career in England’s lower leagues.

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In a 2018 interview with the Daily Mail, the now 29-year-old opened up about why his time at Bayern ultimately ended in failure.

He said: “I remember putting the Bayern kit on for the first time, running out on to the training pitch, looked down and sort of laughed at myself, like, wow.

“I was like, ‘How has this happened?’ I was immature at the time. I just thought, ‘This is going to last forever’. I thought I was better when I wasn't. No one is bigger than football.

“I’ve got that into my head now. You beat yourself up about it sometimes. You think, ‘What if I did this differently… what if I had a different attitude to doing that?’ I'm more mature now.”