Brenden Aaronson

[weasel]

I really thought he would make a move back to MLS on big money. What I didn't know until today is how settled he and his Wife feel living in the Leeds area. They absolutely LOVE it!

I will say that by extending his contract, the amortization of his initial £25 Million transfer fee looks better. But he still needs to prove that on the pitch. And if he's riding the bench it won't look good. He needs to provide some value to the side. And I think he will.

I know your thoughts on the player. And I agree that we need to see more production from our attacking players. But in some ways Aaronson is singularly unique. And I think we undervalue his elite qualities. Which are disruption and tenacity. Things that don't show up on the scoresheet. Which is unusual for an attacking player. But his Manager certainly doesn't undervalue them.

I think he, Okafor and Wilson will occupy the 2 support positions in terms of being wingers, 10s, running from midfield to support DCL. Can see it often be Okafor and Wilson starting with BA coming on as a sub but also making a fair number of starts too.

[BlackHillsPaul]

I think he, Okafor and Wilson will occupy the 2 support positions in terms of being wingers, 10s, running from midfield to support DCL. Can see it often be Okafor and Wilson starting with BA coming on as a sub but also making a fair number of starts too.

I agree, that's how I see it too. It should be situational as to who starts. For example, against the top sides away from Elland Road, I could see Aaronson getting more minutes than Okafor. Because we'll need more defensive work rate. But generally speaking I see a three man rotation.

[GreennWhite]

Its good to have him around. He gets too much flak from the odd fan on here but at the end of the day its a TEAM game and B.A. is a good part of our TEAM.

[White Riot]

We've learned nothing, just giving long, lucrative contracts to mediocre players.

No coincidence that no clubs have come in for him when he only had a year left.

He's DF's cuddly toy/comfort blanket.

You can't blame the players when we're doing dumb s**t like this.

[1964white]

I really thought he would make a move back to MLS on big money. What I didn't know until today is how settled he and his Wife feel living in the Leeds area. They absolutely LOVE it!

I will say that by extending his contract, the amortization of his initial £25 Million transfer fee looks better. But he still needs to prove that on the pitch. And if he's riding the bench it won't look good. He needs to provide some value to the side. And I think he will.

I know your thoughts on the player. And I agree that we need to see more production from our attacking players. But in some ways Aaronson is singularly unique. And I think we undervalue his elite qualities. Which are disruption and tenacity. Things that don't show up on the scoresheet. Which is unusual for an attacking player. But his Manager certainly doesn't undervalue them.

Brenden's workrate is phenonenal, I can't think of another player like him in the Premier League.

Aaronson is likened to a Duracel battery, he energy levels are immense, keeps going & ends up looking like a sweat bucket after 90 minutes.

I never thought we would get rid of him after our promotion, he proved he was a PL squad player last season. Brenden will start plenty of games this season, starting tomorrow!

[1964white]

Happy that Brenden is staying. Does a job but gets too much flack from some folk for me.
Good news.

Indeed he does, Swannie.

Watching him from the kop, I see his runs he
makes & the ground Aaronson covers off the ball.

[weasel]

Its good to have him around. He gets too much flak from the odd fan on here but at the end of the day its a TEAM game and B.A. is a good part of our TEAM.

Oooh who have you nicknamed the odd fan? We should have a poll.

[Irish Ian]

At least it's only 3 years.

Imo the least favourite bit of business we have done this summer.

[DDB220]

Its good to have him around. He gets too much flak from the odd fan on here but at the end of the day its a TEAM game and B.A. is a good part of our TEAM.

Odd fan ? I would say it is 50/50 on this forum. Hard to believe he is still only 25 - big player for us, if he had consistent end product, which may yet improve, and had a better peripheral alarm he would be coveted by a lot of clubs.

[SG90]

Well it's either a new contract or lose another player for nothing next summer. Hopefully he can have a good season and we can get a big fee next summer.

[weasel]

We've learned nothing, just giving long, lucrative contracts to mediocre players.

No coincidence that no clubs have come in for him when he only had a year left.

He's DF's cuddly toy/comfort blanket.

You can't blame the players when we're doing dumb s**t like this.

I think it makes sense. If we didn't give him a new deal then at the end of this season he leaves for nothing - instead we have him for a further 2 years which gives us good options - we can either sell him or we keep him and don't have to spend money to replace him. If it does go wrong and he bombs then we only have him for an additional two years. So even the worst case scenario isn't too much of a problem (not like an extra 4 years etc).

For me this season he is definitely worth a place in the squad, and even in the starting line-up. Next season would imagine at the very least he is worth a place in the squad. That then takes us though to him having just 1 year left on his contract before we might get to a point where maybe he isn't good enough for a place in the squad. However if the end product improves then it may be that by the point he gets to being into the last year of this deal we would be looking to offer him another deal.

I doubt the contract is especially lucrative (football wages wise). The suggestions are that it is very much similar to the deal that he was on. With it being a new contract, rather than an extension, maybe that is to remove clauses that were put in the previous deal, or to insert new clauses.

[GreennWhite]

Oooh who have you nicknamed the odd fan? We should have a poll.

That could be a few on here, some very odd fans about

[GreennWhite]

Odd fan ? I would say it is 50/50 on this forum. Hard to believe he is still only 25 - big player for us, if he had consistent end product, which may yet improve, and had a better peripheral alarm he would be coveted by a lot of clubs.

I was just trying to be kind, and didnt want to give too much exposer to all the odd fans

B.A. may never improve but then again he could easily keep getting better as he gets more accustomed to Premiership football, and matures as a player. As I've said before he is part of a team and as long as that team is doing what's required then that's good enough for me. What we have to remember is that we are still a side that is far from having Premiership stability, but most importantly we are going about that in the right way, with good people at the helm. In the coming seasons if we can maintain our current upward trend then we can start to off load certain players that maybe are not quite up to what we need if we are to push on and become a side that can fight for to 6 places.

[weasel]

I was just trying to be kind, and didnt want to give too much exposer to all the odd fans

B.A. may never improve but then again he could easily keep getting better as he gets more accustomed to Premiership football, and matures as a player. As I've said before he is part of a team and as long as that team is doing what's required then that's good enough for me. What we have to remember is that we are still a side that is far from having Premiership stability, but most importantly we are going about that in the right way, with good people at the helm. In the coming seasons if we can maintain our current upward trend then we can start to off load certain players that maybe are not quite up to what we need if we are to push on and become a side that can fight for to 6 places.

That's it for me too. Every season probably 3 or 4 new signings in starting positions as weaknesses in the side appear. Keeping players such as Bogle and BA means we don't need to spend money bolstering the squad so instead of having to spend £40m bolstering the squad we can use that £40m towards bolstering the first team.

This summer we saw how it should work in my opinion. We have brought in 3 first team starter players where there was a need.

We needed a better keeper, that became even more necessary when Darlow left. Rather than trying to sign someone half decent we spent big on someone who could be fantastic.

Similarly in defence we possibly needed to strengthen, Struijk had done brilliantly but maybe we were at the point where he was becoming the weakest link in the defence - don't forget that we switched to Rodon and Bijol as a pairing just a few matches into the season and it was Struijk that made way. So even if Struijk hadn't left maybe we needed to strengthen. Again rather than having to spend money bolstering the squad we were able to spend a lot in bring in Tarik.

And then Wilson came in to a position we had no one really suited for. As such we brought in 3 players without pushing anyone out, upsetting squad harmony etc. We then added Elvedi when it became evident that Bornauw wanted out - as such it is a like for like replacement but perhaps someone who can push for a regular starting place.

Next summer we will likely be in the same position. A couple of players might have started to decline and we can then spend circa £40m each on replacing them. As an example maybe next summer the striking position becomes the one where we need to spend big. Nmecha maybe will have left with his contract expiring and DCL might have had an injury plagued season. As such, in this example, it is then the right time to spend £50m on a starting striker with DCL relegated to a back-up role. We may also see a club coming in and buying someone who is a first team starter - as an example maybe we get a big money offer for Okafor and as such a place opens up in that position.

We don't though need to buy a replacement for Aaronsen or Bogle even if they regress to being just squad players. We just buy a starter and can focus the money on the starter without needing to also bolster the squad. As it is though there is no reason to suggest that they don't keep improving.

[PhoenixUnited]

We've learned nothing, just giving long, lucrative contracts to mediocre players.

No coincidence that no clubs have come in for him when he only had a year left.

He's DF's cuddly toy/comfort blanket.

You can't blame the players when we're doing dumb s**t like this.

The only saving grace for me is that the Management has taken the view that they didn't want to cut back too hard on the current squad and wanted a sready evolution. Aaronson is not going to suddenly acquire that extra bit of quality to be a really effective player in the Premiership. However, he offers the energy and effort into the squad that we do need to add continuity too. I see him playing less and less of a role as the seasons pass

[Victor_OTT_17]

Squad's need Aaronsons/Longstaffs/Bogles. Unsensational but good grafters that do more than one job. Essential pieces of the puzzle. Imagine having to keep a squad of 25 players happy all the time?

[BlackHillsPaul]

I think it makes sense. If we didn't give him a new deal then at the end of this season he leaves for nothing - instead we have him for a further 2 years which gives us good options - we can either sell him or we keep him and don't have to spend money to replace him. If it does go wrong and he bombs then we only have him for an additional two years. So even the worst case scenario isn't too much of a problem (not like an extra 4 years etc).

For me this season he is definitely worth a place in the squad, and even in the starting line-up. Next season would imagine at the very least he is worth a place in the squad. That then takes us though to him having just 1 year left on his contract before we might get to a point where maybe he isn't good enough for a place in the squad. However if the end product improves then it may be that by the point he gets to being into the last year of this deal we would be looking to offer him another deal.

I doubt the contract is especially lucrative (football wages wise). The suggestions are that it is very much similar to the deal that he was on. With it being a new contract, rather than an extension, maybe that is to remove clauses that were put in the previous deal, or to insert new clauses.

You mean like the escape clause of going out on loan if we are relegated. Yea, we should get of those.

[BlackHillsPaul]

I will say this about American players in general. They are often LATE BLOOMERS. I think that's because in this Country, kids are often late to focus on a single sport. They often grow up participating in multiple sports activities. And they often attend University on a sports scholarship. That is starting to change with regard to football/futbol/soccer. But Clint Dempsey was older than Brenden when he arrived in England. And Brian McBride was 31 when he signed for Fulham. I don't think we've seen the best of Brenden Aaronson yet. I think at age 25 he is still developing. And If I'm right, that'll be great for LUFC.

[GreennWhite]

Squad's need Aaronsons/Longstaffs/Bogles. Unsensational but good grafters that do more than one job. Essential pieces of the puzzle. Imagine having to keep a squad of 25 players happy all the time?

Exactly Years ago someone called Didier Deschamps the Water Carrier for the French team. It sounded slightly derogatory, but was meant as a compiment. He did a very ordinary job for the team but was really good at it. He wasn't the type to make the headlines every game but was a very important part of that French team and without him they may not have reached the levels they did.
You don't need a team of 11 stand out performers, you need a team with different skill sets to complement each other and then the whole team can come good.

[malcolmw]

I will say this about American players in general. They are often LATE BLOOMERS. I think that's because in this Country, kids are often late to focus on a single sport. They often grow up participating in multiple sports activities. And they often attend University on a sports scholarship. That is starting to change with regard to football/futbol/soccer. But Clint Dempsey was older than Brenden when he arrived in England. And Brian McBride was 31 when he signed for Fulham. I don't think we've seen the best of Brenden Aaronson yet. I think at age 25 he is still developing. And If I'm right, that'll be great for LUFC.

Interesting.
He does seem to be calming down and playing with more maturity lately, which is enabling him to show some skills. I do wonder if Farke has been working on that with him - he clearly sees the lad's ability.