How Brenden Aaronson can win over Leeds United fans — The Athletic 21/8/24

By Nancy Froston

The redemption arc was playing out perfectly for Brenden Aaronson.

The United States international was through on goal with only Will Norris to beat, 96 minutes on the clock and the score at 3-3. Aaronson was on the brink of vindication. Instead, and inexplicably to the groaning Elland Road crowd, he dragged his shot wide as the opening game of the season against Portsmouth ended in a draw.

It seemed an easier chance to put away than the one he had managed to score moments earlier — taken well with a deft bit of footwork and an angled finish from a tight spot at the top of the box. Important as it was, that one goal was not enough to put the 23-year-old back in fans’ good books. It was a start, at least — if only it had not been followed by that miss.

For those who do not know their literary devices, a redemptive arc is when a character who has been selfish or villainous makes amends for their wrongdoings. Often that is a heroic act (such as scoring a last-minute winner) or one of selfless sacrifice. To Leeds fans, there are a pair of villains in Daniel Farke’s squad: Aaronson and Max Wober. This has been highlighted with regular boos from the crowd. It remains to be seen how, or even if, they can cast off that status.

This is not a baseless punishment. Aaronson and Wober committed unpopular (some would say selfish) acts by triggering relegation loan clauses that saw them ‘French exit’ Elland Road rather than stick around to face to challenges of the Championship. It was their right, along with a handful of other players including Marc Roca, Jack Harrison and Rasmus Kristensen, based on their contracts.

What never felt likely was that any of the loan crew would have to come back and face the wrath of Leeds fans every week. Most have not. But, against all odds, Aaronson and Wober are back.

Wober could yet find a way out of Leeds this window, although he is unlikely to have increased his list of interested clubs after a shaky showing against Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup last week. Aaronson, however, is committed to the cause after positive talks with Farke and came back into the fold after returning from Union Berlin this summer. Despite the boos when his name has been announced over the PA at Elland Road, he is determined to prove he can do it in English football.

History tells us it is possible. Plenty of players fall out of favour at their clubs and, while it is tough to turn things around, it can be done. Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton is a recent example, as is former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka. While Joelinton felt the weight of his £40million ($52m at today’s rates) price tag — an interesting parallel with Aaronson’s own £25m transfer fee in May 2022 — and was booed while playing for Newcastle in a cup match against Rochdale in 2020, he is now a fan favourite.

Eddie Howe’s arrival as manager and a positional change helped, as did a willingness to knuckle down.

“It was a tough time, but I didn’t stop doing the things I had to do — working hard in training, trying to learn and improve every day,” Joelinton told the i newspaper in March 2022. “I never stopped smiling, even when things weren’t going well,” he said. “There are people with more serious problems than mine.”

Aaronson has a new manager and a drive to work hard as he aims to win fans back. Like Joelinton, who worked with a personal analyst to improve his tactical awareness, he has sought out external help from a nutritionist who helped him to put on muscle while playing in Germany.

Improving performances as a result of working with a new manager worked for Xhaka at Arsenal as well. He made gestures towards fans when they booed him as he was substituted in a match against Crystal Palace in 2019.

“To this day, I can’t really say what happened to me (in) that moment,” he told The Athletic in December 2023. “It’s part of sports. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. But for my family up in the stands, it was like a slap in the face. It hurt me more because it hurt them so much.

“I will never forget how bad my parents felt, how my wife felt. I was convinced I would get through it all, but for my parents and my wife it was hell. My agent was also in the ground. We were supposed to meet the club about a new contract two days later. That never happened.”

Despite wanting to leave in the January transfer window, two meetings with new Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta convinced Xhaka to stay.

“It was as if I was playing for Arsenal for the first time,” he said of his return to first-team action after a brief hiatus where he was stripped of the captaincy. “I will never forget one of my team-mates coming up to me before kick-off and saying, ‘It doesn’t matter what happens, I’m with you’. It was a new chapter, a new beginning for me. Mikel picked me up and brought me back to playing at a level I always knew I could play at. He was sure of my quality and didn’t care what anyone else said.”

After a year away from Elland Road, Aaronson will have faced similar emotions on his return to the club where he felt he had unfinished business. He returned to Leeds a different player from the one that left in a summer of turmoil a year ago and with the benefit of working with Farke, who has shown he can get the best out of players who had been written off at the club before his arrival.

One of the players United will miss most this season, Georginio Rutter, was one of them. His departure means Aaronson has a better chance of breaking into the starting XI at No 10. Joel Piroe is the other main contender for that role.

Aaronson knows the state that he needs to be in to thrive, as he explained in an interview with The Athletic in November 2023.

“You’re thinking all the time,” he said of playing through difficult patches in form as Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in 2023. “You’re not just playing. I’m playing my best when I’m enjoying the game and I’m in a flow state. There’s no thinking, there’s just playing and just doing what I feel and that creative side comes out when I’m in the flow.”

The early signs from this season, most notably in the miss against Portsmouth, show that there are moments where Aaronson is thinking rather than playing without pressure. Stepping into a hostile atmosphere inevitably makes that more likely, but he has Farke’s backing and a burning desire to put things right to drive him on.

Time will tell if that is enough to earn absolution from Leeds fans.