Danny Rose wants to emulate Ledley King at Tottenham as a single-club player

Danny Rose signed with Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, making him the longest serving player in this current Tottenham squad. He joined Spurs from the Leeds United academy at the age of 17, and despite several loans he has been a Tottenham player his entire professional career. Now as he enters his tenth season as a Spurs player he has told Tottenham’s official page that he would like to emulate Ledley King and finish his career at Spurs.

“I’m 26 now and starting to think about if I want to finish my career here and I’d love to do that. There won’t be many players able to say that they’ve been at a club for X amount of years.”

If you cast your mind back a few years and imagine a world where not only would Danny Rose potentially be a one-club player but would be listed among the best players at Tottenham Hotspur, I’m not sure you’d believe it. But that’s exactly what’s happened, and it started with Mauricio Pochettino.

Rose and Poche almost immediately formed a bond when the latter took over head coaching responsibilities in 2014. Pochettino immediately targeted Rose as one of “his guys” at Spurs, putting his arm around him and promising him Rose would get into the England squad. Rose took that belief to heart and turned it into a string of excellent club performances. He has since locked down the left back position for the Three Lions, including several good performances in this summer’s Euros. Rose has also effusively praised Pochettino and his leadership, calling him “a father figure.”

But it’s Ledley King on whom Rose has chosen to model his club career, and he’s chosen a good role model. King was widely regarded as a model professional, a Tottenham man from his schoolboy days who was rewarded for his loyalty by the club despite struggling with chronic knee injuries throughout his career.

“Ledley is a legend. When you see him with the players, some will ask ‘what was he like?’ and there really are no words to describe how Ledley was as a player and as a man.

“He was quiet, but a leader. I saw the pain he had to go through to be out there on a Saturday. You wouldn’t believe he’d missed most of the training sessions throughout the week and yet he’d be the best player on the pitch.

“I’d love to be able to look back at the end of my career and think I’d been at a club for the whole of my career. That’s the plan.”

I can’t think of a better role model for Rose or for any Tottenham player than Ledley King. And the thing is, based on his attitude, his performances in recent seasons, and his love for the club, I can believe that Danny Rose will be a Spurs man for a very long time.