his La Liga debut on the first matchday of the season, playing 71 minutes in Zaragoza's 1–0 win over Tenerife. On 24 February 2010, he was reprimanded by coach José Aurelio Gay after turning up late for training three times in the space of two weeks; he was sent home on the third occasion and disciplined. He never played for Real Zaragoza again. Stoke City On 31 August 2010, the final day of the summer transfer window, Pennant agreed a four-month loan deal with Premier League side Stoke City. He made his Stoke debut as a substitute in the home match against Aston Villa on 13 September 2010. Manager Tony Pulis indicated he would look to make Pennant's loan switch permanent in the January transfer window. Pennant also expressed his desire to stay at Stoke after his loan spell. Pennant joined Stoke on a permanent transfer on 29 December 2010, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract for an initial fee of £1.725 million which could eventually rise to £2.8 million. Following his transfer, Pulis stated that Pennant must not become complacent. He scored his first goal for Stoke in a 4–0 win over Newcastle United in March 2011, contributed an assist in their 5–0 defeat of Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup semi-final, and scored his second goal of the season as they defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0 a week later. He also scored against his former club Arsenal. Pennant played in the 2011 FA Cup Final as Stoke lost 1–0 to Manchester City. Pennant was handed the number 7 shirt prior to the start of the 2011–12 season. However, he reverted to number 16 as a large number of fans had already purchased a replica shirt with his name and old number. Pennant went on to have an up-and-down season as he played in 40 of the club's 59 fixtures (starting in 23), helping the side reach the round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League and the quarter-final of the FA Cup. But off-the-pitch problems dominated Pennant's season as he broke a club curfew twice, before matches against Everton and Crawley Town. This led to speculation over his future at the club, but Pennant insisted he was not looking to leave the Britannia Stadium. However, with the arrival of Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Michael Kightly, Pennant was unable to force his way back into Tony Pulis' plans, and on 12 October 2012,