
Brenden Aaronson has started 19 of Leeds United’s 21 league games this season and has been more or less one of the first names on Daniel Farke’s team sheets. He has reestablished himself at Elland Road after spending last season on loan in Germany and is going to be key in their quest for promotion to the Premier League. However, the American will need to fix one aspect of his game if he doesn’t want to feel lost again in the top flight if Leeds return there next season.
Aaronson spent last season on loan at Union Berlin and his return to Leeds in the summer was expected to be brief following their failure to get promoted to the Premier League.
However, the United States international stated that he would be staying at Leeds and taking part in their quest to get promoted back to the Premier League this season.
The attacking midfielder didn’t start the first league game of the season but has been almost irreplaceable in the team since then and is one of the most important players in the squad.
He is the creative hub of the team in the middle of the pitch and Farke values his vision and his ability to both create and score goals for the team from midfield.
Aaronson has proved several of his detractors this season but there is one criticism of his game that has never really left him despite what he has done for Leeds on the pitch.
Brenden Aaronson still struggles with the Championship’s physicality
Aaronson’s ability to knit together the play with his passing and pop up with goals this season has come in handy for Leeds.
A return of five goals in the Championship is a decent return and he has done enough on the pitch to justify Farke’s undying faith in him in the ongoing campaign.
However, Aaronson’s physical attributes have always been questioned and it really came to the fore when he struggled to adapt when Leeds were in the Premier League.
There was a feeling that he never had the physicality to succeed in England but the midfielder is trying to prove everyone wrong this season in the Championship.
However, his physical struggles have continued and he still gets dispossessed more than three times on average in the Championship. No other Leeds player loses the ball this number of times with Wilfried Gnonto coming closest with an average of 1.4 per game.
In a team, full of players who rarely get dispossessed, Aaronson’s numbers stand out like a sore thumb and it is mainly down to his inability to win more physical duels.
Since Leeds dominate the ball, they are able to carry the United States international in their team but he could face similar issues in the Premier League if they return to the top flight.
Leeds United have to find a way to fix Aaronson’s game if they want him in the top flight as well
Aaronson scored just once in the Premier League for Leeds when they got relegated in the 2022/23 season. It looks worse as he was the big summer signing for the club that year.
The attacking midfielder looked lost in the Premier League and it appeared that he was not physically ready for the rigours of the English top flight.
Credit to him for wanting to help Leeds get back to the top flight and has worked hard to ensure that he can excel in the Championship this season.
However, his physical issues remain and Leeds are finding a way to play around them as they are the more dominant team in almost every game, allowing them to use his top attributes.
But they will have to take a call on whether Aaronson has it in him to adapt to the Premier League if Leeds do get promoted to the top flight this season.
Leeds should learn from their last experience in the Premier League and should be aware that they cannot afford to carry any passengers in the team.
