IT was billed as the battle of the League One wonderkids.

But, while most of the attention this month has been on Alex Chamberlain, it was the youngster valued at about £9m less than him who shone at Prenton Park.

Tranmere’s Dale Jennings capped an exciting display with a superbly-taken second half goal, beating Kelvin Davis from 30 yards out with a clever curling effort.

The 18-year-old is one of the hottest young properties in the Football League, even if all the headlines have been going to Chamberlain during the January transfer window.

Jennings’ touch was impressive and, although he sometimes tried to do too much with the ball, he was a constant threat to Saints and a key figure in Tranmere's 2-0 win.

It is no surprise that he has been attracting interest from Premier League and Championship clubs.

Most people who were leaving Prenton Park on Saturday evening would probably have been scratching their heads at how his valuation is so much less than that of Chamberlain, though.

Tranmere boss Les Parry mentioned this week that his club wouldn’t be bullied into accepting a “silly money” offer of £300,000 for the player.

Going on Saturday’s display, the only thing silly about that deal would be if Tranmere accepted it.

While it is churlish to devalue Chamberlain’s worth on the basis of one below-par performance, Jennings certainly doesn’t deserve to be rated £9.7m behind him.

Chamberlain possesses vast potential, but he struggled to have any sort of impact on the game and had very little of the ball throughout.

Perhaps all the speculation surrounding his future, especially reports yesterday that he had agreed to join Arsenal, had finally affected him.

Although, given that no one from Saints had any real impact on the match, that is perhaps a little harsh.

But a move to the Emirates now appears to be inching ever closer and it would be no surprise if the teenager’s head is spinning a bit.

Whatever the case, though, there was no arguing that it was the boy wonder in the Tranmere shirt, and not the Saints one, that won the day at Prenton Park.