Leeds United want Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson
Leeds United are keen on Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson, according to MLS Soccer journalist Tom Bogert.
The U.S.A international, 21, is also on the radar of AC Milan and RB Leipzig, but “it is highly unlikely a transfer would happen this winter”, with the youngster being one of their most important and influential players.
Salzburg will be playing against Bayern Munich in the last-16 of the Champions League, and Aaronson is expected to stay put for now.
An exit for Aaronson remains on the cards, but with Philadelphia Union retaining a sell-on clause between 10-20% depending on the next transfer fee, Bogert – who also works as a freelancer for The Guardian and Four Four Two – warns that it “won’t be cheap.”
Needed now
Leeds want a central midfielder right now, but it appears they will not be able to get their hands on Aaronson in January.
He will be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the Champions League in February, and it is only normal if he is not willing to swap that for a move to Elland Road.
The Union academy product joined Salzburg for an initial £4.8million last January, with incentives potentially taking the fee to £6.7million, and with those incentives guaranteed to be met if he remains with the Austrian side until the end of the campaign, it is only right for him to want to repay his old club by waiting till summer before moving.
Leeds will need to look elsewhere in January for the central midfielder they want or wait a while for the US international.
Whites ace Kalvin Phillips is out of action until February, and while Marcelo Bielsa can call upon some other options, injuries have continued to decimate his squad.
Aaronson can play in a box-to-box, as an attacking midfielder and on the left wing, and that versatility would have likely attracted Leeds.
However, whether he has what it takes to hit the ground running in the toughest league in the world and under Bielsa’s style of play remains to be seen, and they now need to stay up if they wish to revisit things in the summer.
In other Leeds United news, Whites chiefs recently jetted out of the UK for talks.