Blackwell: Lennon needed pay cut to earn Spurs
Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell claims Aaron Lennon’s Elland Road wages were so high that he accepted less money to join Tottenham.
The 19-year-old winger has yet to make his full England debut but is in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s World Cup squad.
He has spent just one season at Tottenham, whom he joined for £1m (€1.5m) after spending a season in the Coca-Cola Championship with Leeds.
Leeds found they could no longer afford to keep Lennon, who despite being 18 when he left the club was among their big earners.
Blackwell told BBC Radio Five Live: “He actually took a wage cut to go to Tottenham from Leeds.
“The contract that he had was so prohibitive to Leeds, it came from the Premiership days, that there was no way we could afford to keep him.”
Lennon, who made his Premiership debut at 16 for Leeds, enjoyed his best season to date as Tottenham finished fifth last season and nudged ahead of Shaun Wright-Phillips to secure his World Cup place.
