THE opening of the January transfer window is sure to pump up fresh speculation about Tranmere’s hot teenage prospect Dale Jennings.

More than half a dozen Premier League and Championship clubs have been showing an interest in the talented teenager’s progress – and that can sometimes be a distraction for manager Les Parry and his coaching staff. They want players to be focused on the next game, rather than thinking about their next move.

But the bubble of interest that has surrounded Jennings since the 18-year-old burst onto the League One scene seen in September is a welcome development for Tranmere’s Head of Youth Shaun Garnett.

For Garnett, Jennings’ first-team breakthrough from youth and reserve team football at Prenton Park is a valuable “tool” or example that can be used to demonstrate how young players can be better off joining a small club like Tranmere rather than one of the Premier League giants.

Garnett said: “From my point of view and from the point of view of John Ebbrell and the centre of excellence coaches here, Dale’s success is good to see.

“It is a great tool for us to use when we are trying to bring young players into the club.”

Garnett added: “The way the finances work here, it’s important we produce our own players. The first aim is to produce players for our first-team. If they do well the next thing for us is to sell them.

“But it is getting increasingly difficult to get boys to come to us first and to keep them here. The attraction to go onto a big club is considerable.