Aaron Lennon: Why Internazionale Want Tottenham Star

According to The Metro, Internazionale are checking in on Aaron Lennon this week as a precursor to a possible £10 million bid.

The speedy England international, who's contributed four goals and seven assists to Tottenham's cause this season, has taken big strides in his game under Andre Villas-Boas and this link makes a lot of sense.

Here's why.

Raw Speed

It's fair to say Aaron Lennon is a big threat.

He's got quickness, agility and top-end speed that's impossible to teach, he always beats his man and looks dangerous crossing from the byline or coming inside.

A lot of Tottenham's good work over the past three seasons can be routed to this man, and if it weren't for the emergence of Gareth Bale this season we'd all be talking about Lennon's glowing form.

At £10 million—a true value or not—you'd be mad not to consider him. 

Added Consistency

If there was one thing lacking in Aaron Lennon's game, it was consistency.

One week, he'd be the star of the show. The next week, his touch was a little off and his decision-making process looked poor.

He's brushed that side of things up, though, and performs each and every time he steps onto the field. He probably still doesn't get the ball as much as he'd like, but when he does receive it he's rarely wasteful and performs an important role for the team.

With Gareth Bale playing so well, teams will look to man-mark him and neutralise him. For Andre Villas-Boas, that's only a problem if he doesn't have any other fruitful attacking outlets. But he does.

Overreliance on Rodrigo Palacio?

Internazionale have a lot of talent and were very busy in the January transfer window, but their recent match against Catania was an astounding microcosm of their issues.

Andrea Stramaccioni decided to rest right-sided forward Rodrigo Palacio for fear of overworking the Argentine, but when facing a 2-0 deficit at the Stadio Angelo Massimino at halftime, he had no choice but to throw him on.

The former Boca Juniors man inspired a 3-2 comeback, and Inter's reliance on the speedster was plain to see.

Looking at potential targets for the right in order to ease the load on Palacio or even up his game is a smart choice. 

An Unsettling Technique?

It's fair to say Internazionale and Tottenham are in two different worlds right now.

The London club is flying high in the English Premier League and look good to secure a top-four berth, while Inter constantly fight to remain in the hunt for a top-three spot in Serie A and fight speculation over Andrea Stramaccioni's future on a weekly basis.

Teams have looked to nullify Gareth Bale in recent months. As a result, Aaron Lennon has prospered (Patrice Evra will testify).

If Inter are looking to game-plan for Bale, are they worried about the repercussions on the other side of the pitch and therefore unsettling him? Cynical, I know.

Gareth Bale Is out of Their Range

It's indicative of Internazionale's fall from grace in recent seasons that they're reportedly after Aaron Lennon and not Gareth Bale.

The Welshman is the one on fire, but it's his lesser-appreciated teammate who's under the microscope at the San Siro.

Had the story of Inter being after Bale broken, it would have been laughed off. This one makes sense, even if Lennon would show no interest in moving. 

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