Jermaine Pennant is returning to English football after spending a season with S.League side Tampines Rovers. The 34-year-old has signed a short-term deal with League One side Bury, who are fighting to avoid relegation.
"A player with Premier League, Europa League and Champions League experience who has commanded transfer fees of over £10m, 33-year-old Jermaine Pennant has put pen to paper on a contract that will see him wear a Bury shirt for the remainder of the current season," a statement on Bury's official website read.
"Jermaine will take squad number 38 whilst with the club. The club are now waiting on International Clearance before Jermaine can don his first Shakers shirt."
CONFIRMED: Jermaine Pennant is a Shaker after signing a short term deal until the end of the current season #buryfc
— Bury Football Club (@buryfcofficial) January 19, 2017
Pennant was among the high-profile signings and one of the highest-paid footballers in Singapore during his one-year stint with the Stags. His signing created waves in the Asian nation as a packed media conference welcomed him at the National Stadium in January last year.
Arriving to a rousing reception in January during Tampines' pre-match friendly against Hougang United, he helped bring in fanfare and traction to the club and to the league. However, the former Liverpool and Arsenal winger failed to live up to the expectations as Tampines themselves had a poor season despite having big stars. They finished the season without any piece of silverware and ran into financial issues mid-season as well.
Pennant reportedly rejected a contract extension offer from the Stags and was forced to make the decision after the Tampines management reduced wage budget considerably to venture into a "sustainable" future.
Tampines also let go off other foriegn stars Jordan Webb and Billy Mehmet but have brought in 22-year-old Croatian Ivan Dzoni, winger Ryutaro Megumi from Japan and South Korean playmaker Son Yong Chan. They also have signed Singapore internationals Khairul Amri and Madhu Mohana and are gearing up to take on Philippines Global FC in their AFC Champions League play-off stage-match on 24 January.
