Leeds United facing competition from four more teams in hunt for Brenden Aaronson
Leeds United will have to battle with four more clubs in their hunt for Brenden Aaronson in the summer, according to Bild.
The Whites failed in a sustained January pursuit of the RB Salzburg attacking midfielder, with the club eventually having a £20million bid rejected.
The Austrian club were thought to be unwilling to lose a key player ahead of their historic Champions League knockout tie against Bayern Munich tonight (Wednesday February 16), but there was confidence that a summer deal could be reached, with The Athletic’s Phil Hay reporting that the player was keen and wages were expected to fit.
Ahead of the European tie tonight however, German paper Bild has run a major feature on the Austrian champions and the players that are targets for other teams.
They name the German quartet of Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim, Freiburg and Borussia Monchengladbach as suitors for Aaronson.
Explaining the player’s qualities, his manager Matthias Jaissle said, via Team Talk: “The special thing is: I hardly know any other ten who works so much against the ball. He always puts himself behind, is a great team player, very hardworking and has a monster mentality.”
Major competition
After Victor Orta laid such groundwork during the January transfer window it would be expected that United are still well-positioned to complete the deal once the season is over.
But things change quickly in football and the more competition there is the higher the chances that something derails the move.
AC Milan have also been credited with an interest in the American since the window (Calcio Mercato), and with the ever-present spectre of Marcelo Bielsa’s potential departure hovering on the horizon there appears to be an increasingly significant possibility that he never arrives at Elland Road.
Such is the understanding of the system and the structure at Leeds that it is believed the manager’s exit would not necessarily disrupt how things run in Yorkshire.
That may be harder to live up to in practice however, and such a renowned manager leaving could change how attractive the club appears to the player.
It will be doubly infuriating for fans to miss out on the same player twice, as it surely would be for the club.
But it is likely just to be the fact that so much was known publicly that will make it seem so frustrating, as it looks like a January move was impossible either way, and these other teams would surely have had their own plans in regards to the summer anyway.
In other Leeds United news, the club are reportedly ready to spend £10million on a South American goalscorer.