For football lovers, especially the English Premier League lovers, Aaron Lennon becomes one of the most popular names. The player who was born on April 16, 1987, is known as a player who has incredible speed. He often makes the opponent’s defense in a difficult position through his brilliant acceleration.
Lennon started his football career from Leeds Academy. This British man is a descendant of a Jamaican father and an Irish mother. His great talent was monitored by a talent guide when he was 8 years old. Lennon, who joined the Leeds United youth team in 2001, managed to break into the main team in 2003.
His extraordinary talent was delivered to one of the London teams, Tottenham Hotspurs. Right in 2005, Lennon officially dressed in The Lily White. On March 18, 2006, Lennon scored his first goal in the Premier League in the match against Birmingham City. His promising appearance made this 165 cm tall man nominated as PFA Young Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons but eventually lost to Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Even so, Lennon won the title given directly by Tottenham Hotspurs as “Player of the Season” and “Young Player of the Year.”
Thanks to his brilliant performance, Lennon renewed his contract with Spurs in March 2009. After Harry Redknapp was appointed as the captain of the team, Tottenham managed to occupy the eighth position and even advanced to the League Cup final despite eventually losing to Manchester United.
Lennon continued to show his best game. You could say, Spurs became a team that made Lennon’s name blooming. Until September 2012, Lennon had been offered with a four-year contract.
But after undergoing many impressive periods enough with Spurs, Lennon moved to Everton in 2015. Here, Lennon had an experience that he would never forget.
With Everton, Lennon’s name was rarely heard. He was no longer reported by the media with his goals and brilliant action. He was barely given a chance to perform by Everton coach at that time, Ronald Koeman.
After some time staying at Everton, Lennon showed up. But this time, he came with shocking news. Lennon was involved in a commotion in the city of Salford before the police finally received the report. The police also secured him and carried out several further checks.
“The police were called around 16:35 because there was a report about a man who was being suspected to suffer from a mental disorder on Eccles Old Road. The police immediately moved and arrested the man with article 136 about mental health measures and were referred to the hospital for further examination,” said an officer as reported by ESPN FC.
Some media reported that the man was an Everton player, Aaron Lennon. The shocking news immediately spread around until the club gave its confirmation.
“Aaron Lennon is currently under the care over a stress disorder. The club supported him to go through this and his family asked not to be disturbed in the meantime,” said Everton.
Since getting removed by Koeman due to his physical appearance which was not too ideal, Lennon felt fragile. He was hurt and stressed as he was barely given a chance to play.
At a press conference, Koeman responded to the horrendous news,
“Aaron has a psychiatric disorder and what has happened is a secret. We try to give him all the support so he can return as soon as possible. We have contacted his family and I think the best thing to do now is to keep it a secret,” said the Dutchman coach.
After the news was spreading to the world, some footballers sympathized and felt concerned about what Lennon has experienced. One of them is Stan Collymore, a former player of Liverpool and Aston Villa, who has ever been depressed as well,
“My sympathy and love are for Aaron Lennon and family. I know the situation and I know this should be fine with the full support of us all. “
Tottenham Hotspurs as the team that Lennon once defended also showed sympathy,
“Hopefully he can get well soon. We all pray for you.”
After almost ending his career and undergoing various treatments, Lennon finally returned to play. Thanks to his success in returning to the green field, through his Twitter account, the British player thanked those who helped him rise up.
“I can’t name everyone, but again I want to thank my family and friends, everyone at Everton, fans, and everyone in the hospital,”
After deciding to move from Everton, Lennon is now a Burnley player.
