Lennon at 37: Aaron's first interview with the Club from 2005
Tue 16 April 2024, 14:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
As the legendary Aaron Lennon celebrates his 37th birthday, we thought that we would take a dip into the archives to take a look back at his first-ever interview with the Club from when he joined us back in 2005.
Speaking to us aged just 18 after making the move from Leeds United, the winger spoke of his shock at hearing of the Club's interest in him as well as reflecting on the moment he had made Premier League history at White Hart Lane two years prior.
A young starlet at the time, it was at our former home where Aaron had played in August, 2003, for his former club Leeds and, in doing so at the age of just 16 years and 129 days, he became the youngest ever player to step foot onto a Premier League pitch.
Joining us in June, 2005, the boy from West Yorkshire would go onto become a crowd favourite in N17, making 363 appearances for us in a 10-year stay in north London - a period in which he helped us to the League Cup in 2008 before we qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2010. The winger of course providing the famous assist for Peter Crouch's winner at the San Siro in February, 2011, as we enjoyed a quarter-final first leg win over AC Milan.
A future England international who went on to collect 21 caps for his country, these are Aaron Lennon's first words as a Spurs player...
Relive Aaron Lennon's iconic strike against Chelsea at the Lane from November, 2007
"It is a massive move for me," the young 'Azza' reflected on his move to north London. "200 miles from home and it will take a little while to get used to it all. I am sure I will settle in well soon.
"I couldn't believe when I was told Spurs were interested in me. It is massive club that is going places and it is where I want to be.
"I have seen them signing top young players - probably the best in the country - and it is a club going somewhere and I want to be part of it all."
Reminiscing on how he made history at the Lane as he became the youngest ever player in Premier League history in August, 2003, Aaron remarked: "That was a while ago now, I was only 16 when I came off the bench and it was brilliant for me.
"I noticed what a great stadium it is straight away and it was an amazing place to make my debut. It is a bit of an irony. Everybody has been saying to me 'you made your debut there and now you're going to play for them'. Things happen like that in football."
