Leeds United will reintegrate. Brenden Aaronson after his loan term at Union Berlin, and Leeds Live realized that this is a player who is not about to give up.
Looking back, the early weeks of that disastrous campaign seem like a fever dream. Brenden Aaronson capitalised on Edouard Mendy’s blunder to put Leeds United ahead against Chelsea on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Leeds fans sang about their American Boy. Even Brentford manager Thomas Frank was moved to say, “Aaronson.” What a player. What a player. That is an excellent buy for Leeds.”
The jury is still out on that one. Aaronson, in truth, will return to Leeds with plenty to prove after a difficult first season at Elland Road and a testing loan spell at Union Berlin, but it would be premature to write off the US international just yet. Just ask Tommy Wilson, a lifelong Leeds supporter who was the Philadelphia Union’s director of academy and professional development while Aaronson rose through the ranks.
“Over the last couple of years, Brenden has been back to the peaks and troughs in his career,” the Scot told Leeds Live. “But, for me, there is just one possible outcome: he will succeed again.
“I know he loved it in Leeds. I chatted with him and his family, and I am confident that the path he has had since leaving – moving to the Bundesliga, not playing much, and eventually working his way back into the club – will put him in a great position to help Leeds this season.
“I would have been more astonished if he hadn’t returned. He’ll want to show that if they hadn’t seen Brenden Aaronson before, they will now.
The term is being emphasized today. Aaronson, after all, did not stay with Leeds last summer and still has a relegation release clause in his contract, but the former Red Bull Salzburg star chose to return this time after having constructive negotiations with Daniel Farke.
Farke kept an eye on Aaronson in the Bundesliga, where the German was manager less than a year ago, and the Leeds manager has wisely attempted to reintegrate the attacking midfielder into the squad.
Farke is normally wary of working with past loanees, comparing it to how leftovers heated up in the microwave never taste as nice as when food is cooked fresh, but the 47-year-old has made one exception. You could understandably wonder why.
On paper, Aaronson did not perform particularly well in Berlin. In fact, Aaronson scored as many goals (four) at Union as he did during his one and only season at Leeds.
Farke, who took over Leeds just a few days before Aaronson’s loan was completed, has seen something in the £25 million signing. Not to mention the character that Jacob Sweetman got to see firsthand as a member of Union’s media staff.
“As a club at Union, we want fighters and hard workers – and that was precisely what we got in him,” the player told Leeds Live. “He fought back from each setback.
“When he was dropped from the starting XI, he never gave up. He never moaned or complained. He simply put his head down and worked under three different coaches. Every one of them returned to him. He found his form near the conclusion of the season and played an important part in keeping us up.
“What he has always demonstrated throughout his career is the ability to learn from everything. He is defined by his hard labor. He returned to Salzburg as the fittest guy there following Corona. He had worked five times harder than everyone else. That sort of defines him.
“He will be a better player than when he joined us. He definitely left us a better player.”
Aaronson appears to be a stronger player now that he has improved his upper body strength, which was a well-documented issue during his time at Leeds, and the 23-year-old will have profited from a season in a challenging league such as the Bundesliga. Regardless of the physical obstacles ahead, Aaronson is a confident player who appears to be in search of some stability after a rocky couple of years under five permanent managers at relegation-threatened clubs.
Leeds certainly still believe in Aaronson – the club would suffer a significant financial loss if he left permanently – and it is easy to forget the Whites’ long-standing desire dates back to Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure. That was how Aaronson pressured and carried the ball at Red Bull Salzburg.
You only need to look at Georginio Rutter’s development since then to see what can happen when a similarly-aged player falls into the proper hands. Aaronson, like Rutter, is determined to achieve ‘great things’ at Leeds. According to former teammate James Chambers, “He doesn’t take no as an option.” Friend Anthony Fontana, who played with Aaronson at Philadelphia Union, understands this better than most.
“I have spoken to him about his time at Leeds and the criticism and what not, and he had nothing but positive things to say,” he said with Leeds Live. “I was pleased to see that he was getting a lot of positives from the experience.
“He just said great things about the Leeds fans, and a lot of it was about how he wants to make them proud and do his best for the team every game. He’s going to battle for the club and do his best, and as he told me, I know he’ll do everything he can to help them get back to the Premier League.”
