The Kenwyne Jones profile on www.stokecityfc.comBORN in Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenwyne began life as a footballer in his homeland with Joe Public for whom he scored nine goals in just eleven games. His form there attracted the attention of West Connection, and he joined them as an 18 year-old in 2002.
His stock continued to grow there as he scored an incredible 30 goals in 31 games, leading to many national journalists labelling him as the next big thing in Caribbean football, with some even describing his talents as larger than fellow Trinidadian Dwight Yorke.
It wasn't long before Clubs around Europe began to take notice, and he was soon invited for trials with a host of Premier League sides including Manchester United and Chelsea, however it was Southampton who stole a march on their rivals and agreed a deal to take the powerful striker to St. Mary's in 2004.
Kenwyne originally struggled to make an immediate impact on the South Coast and was farmed out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday in a bid to acclimatise him to English football. It was during his two month spell at Hillsborough where he began to recapture the form that attracted the attention of the top flight's leading Clubs.
A goal on his Owls debut against Doncaster Rovers in December 2004 re-energised the towering forward and he didn't look back as he went on to score in each of Wednesday's next six games, earning himself a recall back to the Saints.
He featured in three of their top flight games, partnering Peter Crouch up front, but he failed to recapture his form and was again allowed to leave the Club temporarily, with Tony Pulis swooping to bring him to the Britannia Stadium.
In similar fashion to his spell in Yorkshire, Kenwyne hit the winning goal on his debut for the Club as the Potters beat Millwall 1-0, before impressing further during the rest of his two-month spell in the Potteries.
Talk of a permanent deal for the youngster failed to materialise and upon his return to Southampton, he impressed Gordan Strachan, prompting the Scotsman to start the striker on a more regular basis. However, he failed to help the Saints retain their top flight status as they were relegated down to the Championship.
Lining up alongside current City midfielder Rory Delap, Kenwyne featured prominently throughout the 2005/06 season as they bid to win promotion back into the top flight, but ultimately they failed, having finished level on points with Stoke.
His year was to end on a high note though as he was named in the Trinidad and Tobago World Cup squad, for whom he started in two of their three group games, against Sven Goran Ericsson's England and Paraguay.
The following season would prove to be the 25-year-olds most fruitful to date as he scored 16 goals in 38 games, helping Southampton reach the Championship Play-Offs. They were ultimately beaten in the Semi-Finals though by eventual winners Derby County.
Having scored 22 goals in 80 games for Southampton, Kenwyne had one eye on making a return to the top flight and it came as no surprise when Roy Keane forked out £6m to take him to the Stadium of Light three years ago.
His debut for the Club came against Manchester United in September 2007 and ended his first season on Wearside with a very satisfactory seven goals from 19 starts.
A serious knee injury while on international duty against England in the summer of 2008 hampered his progress, but he marked his return by helping the Black Cats beat rivals Newcastle United in October, and ended the campaign by topping the goalscoring charts having scored 12 goals.
His form alerted the likes of Liverpool, who had an £18m bid turned down in January 2009, whilst Chelsea were also being mooted as potential suitors for the sought after striker. However, speculation regarding his future was brought to an end when he penned a new 4-year deal with the Club.
He continued his fine form last season as he hit the back of the net on nine occasions, including memorable strikes against Manchester United and Manchester City, whilst he marked what would be his final appearance for the Club with a goal in their 2-1 defeat against Wolves on the final day of the season.
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http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10310~2118688,00.htmlCurrent squad1 GK Asmir Begović
3 DF Danny Higginbotham
4 DF Robert Huth
5 DF Danny Collins
6 MF Glenn Whelan
7 FW Eiður Guðjohnsen
8 MF Tom Soares
9 FW Kenwyne Jones
10 FW Ricardo Fuller
11 FW Mamady Sidibe
12 MF Marc Wilson
14 MF Danny Pugh
15 MF Salif Diao
16 MF Jermaine Pennant (on loan from Real Zaragoza)
17 DF Ryan Shawcross (captain)
18 MF Dean Whitehead
19 FW Jon Walters
20 FW Tuncay Şanlı
21 DF Andrew Davies
23 MF Michael Tonge
24 MF Rory Delap
25 DF Abdoulaye Faye
26 MF Matthew Etherington
27 GK Carlo Nash
28 DF Andy Wilkinson
29 GK Thomas Sørensen
30 DF Ryan Shotton
36 MF Matthew Lund
38 GK Danzelle St Louis-Hamilton
