David Prutton shares challenge Brenden Aaronson faces after Leeds United return
Brenden Aaronson faces a challenge to prove his desire to play for Leeds United but it will be the club’s fault if his return does not work out, David Prutton has said.
Writing in his Yorkshire Evening Post column (8 July), Prutton said the next 12 months will determine if Aaronson is the right “type of player” for English football, after returning from a loan spell at Union Berlin.
Aaronson was one of several players who left Elland Road on loan after the Whites’ relegation from the Premier League, but has confirmed he’ll be back ahead of next season’s Championship promotion push [Graham Smyth, 10 June].
Ex-Leeds midfielder Prutton thinks there is a challenge for both player and club now that he is back at Elland Road.
Prutton said: “If you have brought the wrong type of player for English football, then it’s you who has gone out of your way to buy him, so it’s your fault, not the player’s fault at all.
“Now, he either does cope with it, or he doesn’t and ends up going somewhere else.
“He has already shown that he is more than happy to disappear off somewhere else, so it’s a challenge that is going to be set for him.”
Brenden Aaronson has point to prove at Leeds United
Aaronson’s return to Elland Road doesn’t guarantee him a place in Daniel Farke’s starting XI next season, despite playing in a top-five European league as opposed to the Championship for the last 12 months.
His underwhelming record so far in his United career reads just one goal in 36 league appearances, and if he’s to displace any of the Whites’ attacking talent in the team, those numbers will need to sky-rocket [The Athletic, 13 June].
While question marks will hang over the futures of Crysencio Summerville, Daniel James, Georginio Rutter and Wilfried Gnonto for most of the summer, Aaronson will still be behind any of the quartet who have stayed put by the time the transfer window closes [Wiebe de Vries, 4 July].
Arriving to pre-season later than his team-mates following the USA’s Copa America exploits, Aaronson will be making up for lost time when he does pitch up – not only for the new campaign, but also for the 12 months that have seen his competition within the squad improve massively [Beren Cross, 4 July].
In other Leeds news, an update has been provided on the Whites’ pursuit of Callum O’Hare.
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