"Real pleasant surprise" - Leeds United player hailed for shock redemption under Daniel Farke | OneFootball

Brenden Aaronson's positive return to Leeds United has been a welcome surprise for supporters so far this season

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Brenden Aaronson has earned praise for returning to the fold and sparking life back into his Leeds United career against all odds.

Aaronson, who was signed by Leeds in a reported £24.7 million deal from Red Bull Salzburg back in May 2022, formed part of the proverbial "bomb squad" which jumped ship following the Whites' relegation from the Premier League last summer.

Leeds sanctioned wholesale player departures in the immediate aftermath of their return to the Championship, as the likes of Marc Roca, Jack Harrison, Max Wober, Rasmus Kristensen and, of course, Aaronson himself all sealed initial loan moves away from Elland Road.

Understandably so, the manner in which many of Leeds' departures in the summer of 2023 conducted their exits went down sourly with supporters, who made little secret of their frustrations at seeing such players securing top-flight moves despite flattering to deceive and playing their roles in the side's relegation.

Aaronson was one of those to receive particularly strong criticism when he headed to Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin on loan before the start of the previous campaign back in the Championship. However, the USA international has since returned to finally win over the Elland Road faithful following a surprisingly strong start to the 2024/25 season.

Brenden Aaronson is an ever-present under Daniel Farke at Leeds United

Few Leeds supporters would've dared to call such a scenario merely a few months ago, but Aaronson has transitioned into a key component of Daniel Farke's system in the early throes of the current Championship campaign.

It does feel as though he represents Leeds' replacement for Georginio Rutter, who left in a blockbuster move to join Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer after enjoying a scintillating season in the Championship last time out.

There are significant stylistic differences, of course, and Aaronson isn't going to be quite capable of offering the unique, mercurial creative impact to Leeds across a full campaign just as Rutter did. However, he's been deployed in that attacking midfield role behind the striker in Rutters' absence, and is currently making a real impact for the Whites.

Aaronson has appeared in all 12 available Championship matches, starting ten of those and repaying Farke's faith by returning three goals along with an assist.

The 24-year-old was particularly lively in the recent 2-1 victory over Watford, and he's been lauded for having such a positive impact when the odds were very much against his favour.

Brenden Aaronson praised for shock Leeds United impact

We asked our resident Whites fan pundit, Kris Smith, to name one Leeds player who has surprised him so far this season either positively or negatively.

According to Kris, Aaronson's reintegration to the first-team fold at Leeds has been a pleasant surprise, having not held out much hope for the midfielder beforehand.

"Brenden Aaronson, when he returned from his loan in Germany I didn't have particularly high hopes for him having much of an impact or being a crucial player for us first, just because of the sour note that he left when he jumped ship after relegation," Kris explained to Football League World.

"But the step-down to the Championship has really, really benefitted him and it's benefitted us as well having him back.

"I do think on the ball, his dribbling has always been one of his core strengths in possession, and against EFL opposition, he's become quite an important player for Leeds especially in possession alongside the likes of [Willy] Gnonto, [Largie] Ramazani, Mateo Joseph and Dan James.

"He has become quite an important player and someone who has to start when fit. Obviously his consistency and decision-making in the final third is something that's still lacking, there's still a lot of room for improvement there.

"But I do think he's showing he's a key option for Farke. He's already done well to win the fans' appreciation back, which to me shows that he's had a positive impact on the team."