Former Spurs footballer Aaron Lennon has revealed that Premier League rivals Liverpool showed interest in him, but he chose to sign for Tottenham.
Lennon was a fantastic servant for Spurs, arriving from Leeds United in 2005 and featuring 362 times for the North London club (Transfermarkt). His pace and dribbling ability made him stand out amongst his peers.
His career which undoubtedly peaked at Spurs went on a downward trajectory since his decision to join Everton in 2015. The 36-year-old had stints at Turkish club Kayserispor and English club Burnley before eventually calling it a day.
Former teammate Darren Bent told the talkSPORT Breakfast that he feels Lennon does not get the respect that he deserves, considering the longevity of his career.
During his time in N17, Lennon made the right wing his own, terrorising opposition left-backs. He was a traditional right-footed right winger who loved to keep the chalk on his boots, a rare commodity in today’s game.
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Lennon reveals Liverpool wanted to sign him
Speaking to Stadium Astro as revealed on X (formerly known as Twitter), Aaron Lennon revealed that there was a lot of interest in him back in 2005 but joining Spurs was a no-brainer.
When asked, “Why Tottenham?”, here is what Lennon had to say about his decision.
“As I said, I remember being on a holiday with my brothers and I remember getting a phone call from my agent. I actually got a phone call from a news reporter first and they already told me you are going to Tottenham, and I was like, “Pardon!” and I am out thinking, “Is this a prank call?”.”
“We didn’t really get prank called in those days. I remember saying to my brother and then my agent had revealed to me saying, basically Leeds had agreed a fee to sell me without even coming to me. Obviously, then it’s about me agreeing personal terms and whether I want to go.”
“So I came back off the holiday, spoke to my agent, he said there were a few offers going around, there were a few interests. I think Liverpool was another who were interested at that time but we looked at the project and Tottenham were then signing a lot of the best young players and yeah, that was it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Aaron Lennon is undoubtedly one of the most underrated Spurs players of the modern era. He was an absolute menace on the right flank and would often give nightmares to some of the best left-backs in the country like Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra.
There aren’t many players like Lennon in the game right now and the concept of traditional wingers has almost gone out of the picture.
Sadly, the 36-year-old did not adapt his game with the tactical evolution and was unfortunately left behind. That doesn’t take anything away from his exploits in his prime though, and will always be celebrated by Spurs fans.
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