What went wrong for Brenden Aaronson at Leeds? And what next?
Leeds desperately pushed to get the deal sorted for Red Bull Salzburg and rising U.S. international Brenden Aaronson. The price kept climbing as bids were rejected. But the head coach and front office continued to press for their priority target.
This was under Marcelo Bielsa in January of 2022, with the midfielder arriving six months later, under a different head coach — Jesse Marsch — with many assuming the American was entirely behind the move for his compatriot.
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Despite big expectations for Leeds United States of America, Marsch would be the first of three head coaches Leeds would have over a dire 2022-23 season.
Just a year later and Aaronson is gone, on loan to Bundesliga (and Champions League) club Union Berlin following Leeds’ relegation from the Premier League. By any estimation, his first season had not gone quite according to plan. His £25million price tag (then $31m) was at odds with his impact — one goal and three assists in the Premier League — underwhelming fans who hoped to see more end product from a near-club-record signing.
Did Leeds fail him, or did he fail them? Will he prove at Union that he has so much more to offer, that his perceived strengths are genuine? Or, after coming to Leeds from Salzburg, has he underlined a comment made by former United chairman Andrea Radrizzani that “to take coaches or players that come from the Austrian league and expect them to perform in the Premier League — with all respect — the gap is too big”?
Former Leeds sporting director Victor Orta and Bielsa led the recruitment and made Aaronson a priority target for the January 2022 transfer window, but Salzburg wouldn’t budge. They held firm to their policy to not sell mid-season with a round of 16 Champions
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