Leeds United attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson has failed to kick on in the Premier League after a burst of goal contributions around the winter period.
Between the start of December and January 7th, the USA international delivered three goals and two assists in seven top-flight matches for Daniel Farke's side.
Since that impressive run of form, which included scoring twice away against Newcastle United, Aaronson has failed to make much of an impact in the final third.
Brenden-Aaronson-2
In 12 appearances in all competitions since he scored that brace at St. James' Park, the USNMT attacking midfielder has registered zero goals and zero assists for the Whites.
Leeds have also failed to score a single goal in each of their last four Premier League matches, drawing 0-0 with Brentford at Elland Road on Saturday night.
Leeds United's biggest mistake in the January transfer window
The club's recent struggles in front of goal illustrate exactly where the club went wrong during the recent January transfer window, as the board failed to address the lack of attacking quality at the top end of the pitch.
No Leeds player has registered more than Anton Stach's return of three assists in the Premier League, which shows that Farke has not had any consistent playmaking from any of his players this season.
Anton-Stach
In the January window, Leeds signed Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion as their only senior arrival, but he only managed two assists in 31 Premier League games on loan at Leicester City in the 2024/25 campaign.
The Argentine attacking midfielder did not look set to be the answer to their creative struggles, and he has looked like a total flop at Elland Road so far, failing to even make the matchday squad more often than not.
|Since signing for Leeds|
|Game|Buonanotte|
|---|
|Brentford (H)|Not in squad|
|Crystal Palace (A)|Not in squad|
|Norwich (H)|Unused substitute|
|Sunderland (H)|Not in squad|
|Man City (H)|Not in squad|
|Aston Villa (A)|Not in squad|
|Birmingham (A)|45 minutes|
|Chelsea (A)|Unused substitute|
|Nottingham Forest (H)|Not in squad|
|Arsenal (H)|19 minutes|
|Everton (A)|5 minutes|
|Fulham (H)|Unused substitute|
Not signing a creative playmaker who could hit the ground running as an upgrade on Aaronson, therefore, currently looks like the biggest mistake that Leeds made, and they will be hoping that it does not end up costing them their place in the Premier League.
Aaronson's form and the general lack of creativity within the squad at the moment will be particularly frustrating for the Whites, because they sold a player in 2024 who would be exactly what they need right now.
Former Leeds star would be a big Aaronson upgrade
In the summer of 2024, after Leeds lost the play-off final to Southampton, the club cashed in on several star players, including Glen Kamara, Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville, and Georginio Rutter.
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke celebrates after the match
Of those players, Farke must rue that the club had to cash in on Rutter because he is the kind of maverick creative player that Leeds are desperately lacking at this moment in time.
The Frenchman is currently valued at £26m by Transfermarkt, more than Leeds' most valuable player Stach (£22m), which shows that he had grown out of the club's reach by the time that Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2024.
Leeds-Rutter-stats-timeless
During his time at Elland Road, the attacking midfielder showcased his incredible playmaking ability, creating 22 'big chances' and assisting 15 goals in 45 appearances in the Championship during the 2023/24 campaign.
To put that into context, no Leeds player managed more than 12 assists in the league during the 100-point title-winning season last term, suggesting that Rutter would have been the most creative player in that squad.
Since joining Brighton, the 23-year-old star has scored ten goals and provided seven assists in all competitions, whilst he has created 12 'big chances' in the Premier League.
Aaronson, meanwhile, only registered two assists in the Championship for Leeds and has assisted three goals in the Premier League this term, failing to provide a regular source of creativity in the number ten position for the Whites.
Rutter, therefore, would be a big upgrade on what Farke currently has in that position, because of what he achieved at Leeds under the German boss and his form for Brighton since leaving Elland Road.
Rutter
His current Transfermarkt valuation, placing him higher than Stach and every other player at Leeds, suggests that he is now beyond the club's grasp and that he is not likely to make a return to West Yorkshire, unfortunately.
If Leeds had not sold him to Brighton in the summer of 2024, convincing him to remain at Elland Road for another Championship campaign, Farke's side would not be struggling as much as they currently are to create chances and score goals.
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