Aaron Lennon's Long Goodbye Is a Sad Ending for the Longtime Tottenham Servant
As recently as a year ago, Aaron Lennon was one of the main attractions on Tottenham Hotspur's North American tour.
He was an England international, a longtime servant as synonymous with the north London club as anyone in the squad at the time and, despite his form dipping in early 2014, still one of the team's most entertaining players. The winger's excellently taken goal in the 2-0 win over Chicago Fire was evidence of that.
A year on, Lennon is not even in the squad for Tottenham's return to America, this time to take on the Major League Soccer All-Stars:
Instead, no longer part of Mauricio Pochettino's plans, he is waiting on confirmation of his future—a long goodbye that is proving a sad ending to an otherwise positive decade with the Premier League side.
Lennon's departure has been inevitable since the start of the year.
He began last season struggling to get going. After what ended up being a brief resurgence around November, the right-sided midfielder's involvement was minimal at best by the time the 2015 January transfer window opened.
Loaned to Everton, Lennon contributed to Roberto Martinez's team moving away from a looming relegation battle. Goals in the 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers and a 1-1 draw with Swansea City played their part in a six-match springtime unbeaten run, culminating in the Toffees' impressive 3-0 defeat of Manchester United.
Ineligible to play his parent club in the final game of the season, Lennon's campaign ended a week early with a 2-1 win over West Ham United. Speaking on social media, it was clear he had enjoyed his time on Merseyside.
After the aforementioned fluctuating form of 2014 (dating back to before Pochettino's appointment), Lennon's time with Everton saw a welcome restoration of the assured, energetic and persistent work he had reliably delivered over the years with Spurs.
The player permanently reuniting with last season's temporary employers would understandably appeal to both.
Such a move has been mooted throughout the summer. The Mirror's Darren Lewis reported in June that Lennon was willing to play the waiting game to get his way. In July, the Daily Mail's Simon Jones suggested Spurs were looking to figure out an exchange deal involving Everton midfielder James McCarthy.
As things stand, little progress appears to have been made. Lennon not only did not travel to America with the first team, he is reportedly not even training with them, according to Telegraph Football:
It is unfortunate the realities of Tottenham rightly getting a good deal for one of their most talented, albeit unwanted players is now impinging on Lennon getting on with his career. That his years with what is likely to be the defining club of his time playing professional football are ending so anticlimactically is a shame.
A summer 2005 arrival from Leeds United, the now-28-year-old played a significant part in turning Spurs from a mid-table outfit to a team with genuine ambition at home and in Europe. Last year, this writer rated him as the north Londoners' third-greatest player of the fledgling 21st century.
Lennon has been around long enough to know perfect goodbyes are rare-to-nonexistent in football.
The Tottenham tenures of former team-mates like Michael Dawson, Robbie Keane and Jermaine Jenas did not end on triumphant notes, but instead petered out. Ledley King received a testimonial to celebrate his years as a one-club man, but he still had to deal with his playing career being ended prematurely by injury. Even Gareth Bale and Luka Modric—who got dream moves to Real Madrid—still would have hoped to have left on a high following silverware or some other commensurate measure of success, rather than the Champions League-place near misses they did.
Tottenham are moving on under Pochettino. Players like Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela are influencing a way of playing that is less reliant on the use of a straightforward wide-man. There is still a place for such options, but having been a main man for so many years in N17, a bit-part role likely will not appeal to Lennon.
The time is right for a fresh start for him. Be it with Everton or ultimately another club, his spell at Goodison Park showed he still has plenty to offer.
Nonetheless, it is unfortunate Lennon's final time in a Spurs shirt is likely to be last December's uninspiring 1-0 Europa League loss away at Besiktas. The only positive of participation in such a forgettable match is it is unlikely to tarnish the largely fond memories the White Hart Lane faithful should have of the Yorkshireman so delightfully tearing up and down their wings for so many years.
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