Brenden Aaronson has been an interesting case ever since he arrived at Leeds United. He was signed for big money, so there was a lot of pressure on his shoulder at the start of his career.
He did show flashes in his first season in England, but he had very poor output which did not inspire the fanbase. Many wrote him off as a flop when the Whites went down in 2023. What angered many supporters was the American sorting a loan move in the summer to avoid playing in the Championship.
Last year, he was handed a lifeline by Daniel Farke. After Leeds failed to sign a creative player, the German decided to use Aaronson as a number 10 behind the striker. And it worked, as the 25-year old had his most productive season in Leeds colours, scoring nine goals.
Leeds United man Brenden Aaronson slammed by countryman
This season has been up and down for the midfielder. He was used in a variety of roles which did not work out for the most part. And former USMNT player Landon Donovan thinks that Brenden Aaronson does not have enough ‘star quality’ to force himself into the national team ahead of the World Cup:
“He’s been really good lately, Tim, and it’s been interesting timing because we said, and I believe this, I’m not backing off this, I said at the time, he’s a hard person to get into our national team and playing regularly because he doesn’t have any star quality, and who are you going to play him over?” Donovan said on the Unfiltered Soccer show.
”And what I think this is a case of is he’s at the right club, playing around the right group of players, and he fits perfectly.”
Midfielder has had a decent season
Maybe Landon Donovan has not been watching every Leeds United game, but Brenden Aaronson has had a decent season. Early in the campaign he struggled for form as Farke tried him in different roles all over the pitch, even out wide.
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 4 | 3 |
Since adapting to a more central role in the 3-5-2, the midfielder has been thriving. Aaronson is able to find pockets of space to carry the ball into. He is one of the key figures in progressing the ball forward. The midfielder has also found his scoring touch this season, already netting four goals in the league. Brenden Aaronson definitely makes the US World Cup squad on performances, but as to whether he deserves to be a starter is a whole different conversation.
