Daniel Farke should make tough Brenden Aaronson call after Aston Villa showing
Brenden Aaronson has gone off the boil for Leeds United in recent weeks.
Having been enjoying a mostly very strong season for Leeds this term, Aaronson has been struggling to hit the heights of his earlier mid-campaign form.
Between late October to early January, the 25-year-old attacking midfielder was undoubtedly one of the Whites’ best players, scoring goals and providing them on a consistent basis.
However, the USA international is now without a goal contribution in his last eight appearances in all competitions, dating back to Leeds’ 3-1 win over Derby in the FA Cup on 11 January.
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Daniel Farke should drop Brenden Aaronson for Man City
His most recent poor performance came in Leeds’ 1-1 draw away at Aston Villa on Saturday, in what was a frustrating afternoon at Villa Park all round for Daniel Farke‘s side.
Leeds had taken the lead through a fantastic Anton Stach free-kick just after the half hour mark, and despite holding Villa off admirably in the second half, Tammy Abraham eventually broke down the door with two minutes to play.
Aaronson didn’t see the final whistle though, as he was replaced after 73 minutes for Lukas Nmecha, having done very little to impact the game.
Operating out on the left flank, Aaronson was playing in a fairly unnatural position, but would still have expected to impact the game more than his zero shots and just 33 touches of the ball allowed him to.
He looked every bit of a player that is in need of a rest, having started every Premier League game for Leeds since the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on 20 December last year.
And with an incredibly tough game against Man City at Elland Road on Saturday, that feels like an opportune time to rest Aaronson, as the Whites can’t afford to be slow and leggy against the Cityzens.
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Farke may have been eyeing Aaronson change for City anyway
Leeds will no doubt look to remain defensively compact and narrow against Man City, before looking to hit them on the counter-attack.
But in order to do that, Farke needs some pace in attack to spring those counter-attacks effectively, and to exploit gaps and space in the transition if and when City turn the ball over to them.
However, looking at Aaronson’s last few performances would suggest he’s probably not the best option to have on the pitch in that regard, whereas more success could come through the pace of Dan James and/or a Wilfried Gnonto.
Farke won’t be viewing City as a free hit, but he will also know that Leeds have bigger battles to come before the end of the season, with Tottenham, Sunderland, Wolves, Burnley and West Ham still to play.
He’ll want Aaronson as fit and fresh for those relegation six-pointers as possible, and so giving him the chance to get an extra week of refuelling into his body could be very pragmatic indeed.
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