Aaron Lennon

Aaron Justin Lennon (born April 16, 1987 in Chapeltown, Leeds) is an England Football (soccer) currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur F.C..

Club career

Leeds

A Midfielder Winger, Lennon began his professional career at Leeds United A.F.C., where he became the youngest player ever to appear in the FA Premier League at the age of 16 years and 129 days ( The youngest player is now Matthew Briggs who plays for Fulham when he made his début at 16 years 65 days) - coming off the bench at Elland Road in a 2-1 defeat in August, 2003. He had been a member of the Leeds United Academy for a long time before breaking into the first team setup. In 2001, he set a record as the youngest player ever to have his boots sponsored, when he signed up with Adidas at the age of just 14. His older brother Tony was also at the Leeds Academy, but never made it into the first team.

Tottenham Hotspur

With Leeds suffering financial difficulties, he made a £1m move to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in early June 2005 and his Spurs debut came a couple of months later in an August defeat against Chelsea F.C.. On 18 March 2006 Lennon scored his first FA Premier League goal in Tottenham's 2-0 victory over Birmingham City F.C. at St Andrews, early in the second half.

Lennon was one of ten Spurs squad members to be struck down by an alleged outbreak of food poisoning on the evening of 6 May 2006, before their crucial final game of the season against West Ham United.

He was nominated by fellow Premiership players for the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year for the 2005-06 in English football season. The award was ultimately awarded to Manchester United F.C.'s Wayne Rooney. On 28 March2006, he signed a contract extension with Spurs lasting until 2010.

He was nominated again for the Young Player of the Year award again in 2006-07 and finished 3rd behind Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United and Francesc Fàbregas of Arsenal F.C]. Aaron Lennon signed a new 5 and a half year deal worth £20,000 a week with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday 8 January 2007, which will keep him at the club until 2012.

International career

Lennon was called up to the England national under-21 football team team for the first time in October 2005 and on 8 May, 2006 was picked in England national football team's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. His inclusion in the squad, ahead of Chelsea F.C.'s Shaun Wright-Phillips was regarded as a surprise to some, but others claim it as a justified decision.

He was named Man of the match in the England B match with Belarus national football team on 25 May 2006 in England's World Cup warm-up match at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, which England B lost 2-1. He made his full England début as a second-half substitute in the 6-0 win over Jamaica national football team on 2 June.

Lennon came on as a substitute for England in their second group stage game of World Cup 2006 (his first World Cup finals appearance) against Trinidad & Tobago national football team. England scored twice following his and Wayne Rooney's arrival on the field, winning the game 2-0. There were some suggestions amongst fans for him to replace David Beckham on the right side of midfield.
Lennon then played in the quarter final clash against Portugal when Beckham came off injured. He had a penalty claim turned down and was a constant menace, but was then substituted for Jamie Carragher immediately prior to a Penalty shootout (football), which England lost 3-1.

Lennon came on as a substitute against Andorra national football team during a European Championship qualifier and made an instant impact by assisting Peter Crouch's second goal after receiving the ball for the first time.

Lennon made his first start for England against Israel national football team in a European Championship Qualifier on 24 March2007.

Career stats

^{Correct as of 13 May 2007}

Footnotes