Highlights
- Leeds United’s history of failed signings, such as Jesse Marsch and Brenden Aaronson, raises concerns about a new transfer target.
- The player in question plays like Man United legend Ryan Giggs.
- They have an underwhelming goal record and could be a poor signing for Daniel Farke.
Leeds United could be set to emulate a disaster that still remains fresh in their memory, suggesting that despite having new owners and a new manager, little has changed around the club.
Who else are Leeds United signing this summer?
Last summer marked a frustrating one for the fanbase, who saw Jesse Marsch wholeheartedly backed despite his obvious weaknesses as a manager. As such, those failures were quickly exacerbated, and the American was sacked in February.
It marked a decision made too little too late though, as he had also been allowed to dictate the January transfer window, leaving Javi Gracia and later Sam Allardyce with an uphill battle that they would both fail to overcome.
Of all those failed signings brought in by the former RB Salzburg boss, few stand out like Brenden Aaronson.
Therefore, the fact that they are once again in for an American will send harrowing flashbacks reverberating around Elland Road, as journalist Simon Jones wrote in his exclusive Mail+ article. He suggests that the Whites are weighing up a move for Norwich City forward Josh Sargent, who has just two years left on his £12k-per-week deal.
How good is Josh Sargent?
Having also made the switch to English football during that aforementioned summer, it is fair to say that the 23-year-old failed to hit the ground running after trading Germany for Carrow Road.
Just two Premier League goals in 26 appearances marked a toothless return for the centre-forward, who offered little aid to prevent the Canaries’ relegation. Whilst that figure would improve the following season, scoring 13 in the Championship, it seems that he is far from the requisite level needed to lead them into a brighter, more sustainable future back in the top flight.
At the very least though his goals would aid in their pursuit of promotion, with Slaven Bilic having sought to praise the former Werder Bremen ace back in October: “Sargent is an electric player. He reminds me of Giggs; pace, brave and everything. I like him.”
That is more that can be said for Aaronson, who not only offered little as the Yorkshire outfit sought to escape the drop but jumped ship at the first time of asking.
Signed for a mouth-watering £24.7m fee, Marsch saw fit to unload a significant amount of money to bring the tricky attacking midfielder with him from RB Salzburg. Then, having scored in their early-season demolition of Chelsea, things looked promising for the young creator who seemingly had talent and work ethic in abundance.
However, the 22-year-old would endure a decidedly profligate spell following that strike, which would actually be his only goal in the league all season, despite making 36 appearances.
He earned particular scorn in February for one awful showing against Everton, with pundit Jon Newsome telling BBC Radio Leeds: “I feel he’s very lightweight. There were a couple of occasions when the ball was there to be won and he actually jumped out of the way. That, for me, is really disappointing.”
Then, to make matters worse, he is one of many to have fled on loan this summer, joining Union Berlin.
Although Sargent seems a far better option than Aaronson does and did, especially given the level they now find themselves in, few will want to repeat their failures of the past, especially when they are so glaring and have had such a catastrophic effect on the club.
