Leeds United have done really well to recover from last season’s devastating relegation back down to the Championship after spending just three seasons in the top flight.
The 2022/23 Premier League campaign is certainly one to forget for the Yorkshire side but will serve as an important reminder to the club about how to handle player and managerial recruitment upon return to the promised land one day, especially regarding the inclusion of relegation clauses in certain contracts.
While new head coach Daniel Farke has managed to turn the side’s fortunes around this season, there are still a few names on the books that haunt the board, including one man in particular who has had a torrid time out on loan.
Leeds United relegation clauses
Following Leeds’ relegation from the Premier League, the side had a real battle on their hands to keep hold of players they had spent such vast sums of money on.
The reason for this was that the club agreed to allow various expensive stars to insert a relegation clause into their contract upon moving to Elland Road which forbade them from playing in the Championship, according to The Athletic. This was used as a makeweight to entice players to move to Leeds United without scaring them off at the prospect of taking a 60% wage reduction in the event of dropping down a division.
As a result, numerous big-money signings were sent out on loan during the summer, including Brenden Aaronson, Jack Harrison, Robin Koch, Max Wober and Marc Roca, among others. These players are set to return to west Yorkshire at the end of the season if a permanent deal doesn’t come to fruition. This will likely be the case with Aaronson amid what has been a dismal spell on loan at Union Berlin, having signed for Leeds United in 2022 for £25m from RB Salzburg.
It was clear why Victor Orta brought in the USMNT star based on his record in Austria. In 66 appearances for Salzburg in all competitions across two seasons, Aaronson scored 13 goals and registered 15 assists, with 15 of his goal contributions coming from the number ’10’ position.
Unfortunately, it never quite clicked for the attacker at Leeds, having bagged one goal and three assists in 40 matches, leading BBC pundit John Newsome to call Aaronson’s transfer “disappointing”.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, the 23-year-old even admitted that he could feature for his parent club next season, claiming that his time at Leeds is “not done and dusted”. However, his form on loan in Germany won’t fill fans with any confidence that he can return and prove his worth in front of the Elland Road faithful.
Brenden Aaronson’s stats this season
Union Berlin’s 1-1 draw away at Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday evening ended a run of twelve-straight defeats for the German outfit. Aaronson was brought on 11 minutes from the end to make his 13th appearance of the season. Within those 13 games, the American has failed to register a single goal or assist. Digging further into the Leeds loanee’s stats since moving to Germany doesn’t make for great reading.
Leeds United – players out on loan | ||
|---|---|---|
Loanee | Games | Goals |
Jack Harrison (Everton) | 5 | 1 |
Luis Sinisterra (Bournemouth) | 4 | 1 |
Robin Kock (Frankfurt) | 10 | 0 |
Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin) | 7 | 0 |
Max Wober (B. Monchengladbach) | 10 | 0 |
Rasmus Kristensen (Roma) | 10 | 0 |
Marc Roca (Real Betis) | 12 | 2 |
Diego Llorente (Roma) | 9 | 0 |
Sam Greenwood (Middlesbrough) | 10 | 3 |
Cody Drameh (Birmingham) | 11 | 0 |
Sonny Perkins (Oxford United) | 2 | 0 |
Stats via Transfermarkt. | ||
Last season, Aaronson’s combined expected goals and expected assists per 90 average was 0.31 compared to 0.14 per 90 this term. The player is also averaging 0.69 progressive carries per 90 and 3.1 progressive passes per 90 with Union, a drop from 1.63 progressive carries per 90 and 3.26 progressive passes per 90 in the previous campaign.
Additionally, Aaronson has averaged 1.38 key passes per 90 and 1.72 passes to the final third per 90 with the Bundesliga side, while his numbers with Leeds were higher, having averaged 1.74 key passes per 90 and 1.78 passes to the attacking third per 90 last term.
Nevertheless, perhaps the most damning stat to sum up Aaronson’s loan spell so far is that the former Philadelphia Union player has failed to make a single pass to the penalty area this season despite being a number ’10’.
It seems unlikely that Aaronson will still be a Union Berlin player past the summer unless he drastically improves his output at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, so perhaps the 23-year-old will get a chance to prove himself one last time at Leeds if the club returns to the Premier League.
