Aaron Lennon Bio Send To Friend  

Aaron Lennon joined Tottenham Hotspur for just Ģ1m from cash-strapped Leeds United in June 2005. The exciting, speedy right winger's strong debut campaign for the White Hart Lane outfit earned him a nomination to for the PFA Young Player of the Year award and he has gone on to become one of the best midfielders in the league.

Lennon first appeared for Leeds when handed a shock place on the bench for the opening game of the 2003-04 Premiership season against Newcastle United - aged just 16 years and four months.

The attacking midfielder was a revelation in the club's youth ranks, and had only signed his first Academy contract earlier that summer. However, Leeds were left with no choice but to offload the player to Spurs in June 2005 due to the nature of his contract, which saw his weekly wage steadily rise with the number of first team appearances.

He had been handed the deal while Leeds were still a Premiership club. It was so restricting that even Spurs were unable to match it and he had to take a wage cut in order to move to White Hart Lane.

He was expected to play much of the 2005-06 campaign after his arrival at Spurs as an understudy to Wayne Routledge on the right flank. But the curse of the metatarsal struck the former Palace man which increased Lennon's first team chances. Lennon grew in stature as the season progressed, to such an extent that Routledge was loaned out when back to full fitness.

His first season so impressive he was picked in England's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, despite being uncapped at senior level and he was again nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award for the 2006-07 season, but was placed behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fābregas. Still, his strong performances for Spurs earned a reward in the shape of a new five-and-a-half-year contract tying him to the club until 2012.

However, his international development stalled and, after making his first start for England against Israel in a UEFA Euro qualifier in March 2007, he did not play again for another two years.

In the 2007-08 season he secured his place as one of the most popular faces at White Hart Lane as he turned on the style in his 39 appearances in all competitions. With pace his major attribute allied to an ability to keep the ball close to his feet and mesmerise defences he became one of Spurs' most potent attacking weapons and slowly began to make his way back into the international fold.

His form at the start of 2009-10 helped Spurs to the top of the league and he was rewarded with a re-call for the friendly against Slovenia and the World Cup qualifier versus Croatia in September.