Leeds United need to make sure on Brendan Aaronson after Phil Hay Tweet on Bayern game
Leeds United received a big reminder last night of why they need to make doubly sure they finish the job and sign Brendan Aaronson in the summer.
The club failed with a £15million and then a £20million bid for the American midfielder in the January transfer window as Red Bull Salzburg were not interested in letting a key man go before their Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.
The 21-year-old duly assisted his side’s goal in the 1-1 first-leg draw, with only a 90th-minute equaliser from the German giants preventing the Austrians securing a famous win on the night.
The Athletic journalist Phil Hay saw it as evidence of what Leeds are looking for, reacting on his Twitter account: “An assist for Brenden Aaronson on a decent night for RB Salzburg against Bayern Munich.
“This is why Leeds United wanted him and why they still want him.”
Speaking on BT Sport ahead of the game Owen Hargreaves had talked up the ex-Philadelphia Union man saying:”He’s a fantastic young player, dynamic. He’s the one who’s going to have to get on the ball, get on the half turn and feed those two, [Noah] Okafor and [Karim] Adeyemi.
“They have a threat, especially with the way Bayern have defended in the last few games.”
Clear focus
He went on to do just that, although to one of their replacements, as his touch found Chukwubuike Adamu who finished brilliantly.
For all it will have been vindicating to see their main January transfer target perform so well in a big European game it will be exactly what Victor Orta didn’t want to see in many ways,
Bild had already reported ahead of the game that four Bundesliga sides had joined the chase for the player, but in creating so many chances on the big stage he has surely drawn further attention to himself.
Bayern themselves are no stranger to plucking those who do well against them for their own benefits.
In giving his side a fighting chance of actually knocking the Bavarian side out of the competition his price has surely increased already, and could do so even further.
The £20million that wasn’t enough last month was thought to the starting point for summer negotiations but Salzburg will not hesitate to extract maximum value from a potential bidding war.
The club need to do everything they can in building on their significant January ground work to land him in the summer, and hope they haven’t been priced out of the running already.
In other Leeds United news, the terrible Raphinha contract news may have been premature according to a new report from the YEP.