Leeds United man breaks silence on Elland Road future but big question goes unanswered

Speaking to The Athletic while on US Men's National Team duty ahead of the Copa America, Aaronson addressed his desire to return to Elland Road because he has 'unfinished business.' The interview confirmed the YEP's story on Monday that the 23-year-old had enjoyed positive talks with Whites boss Daniel Farke and would be making his way back to West Yorkshire to once again play for the club that loaned him out to Union Berlin last season. That loan, of course, was an option he chose to exercise in his contract thanks to a relegation release clause.

Aaronson was keen to get across to Leeds fans just how keen he is to help them get back to the Premier League. “I said I wanted to be a big Leeds player,” he said. “My grandpa brought up that quote to me last week, so I was thinking about it again. It stuck with me. That’s what I want to do: I want to go back to the club and do special things. I know how big the club is, how much it means to people in the city. Coming back, I’m going to do the best I can. All I want to do is bring Leeds back to the Premier League. I can’t wait to play at Elland Road in front of our fans again.”

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What he did not say and it is not immediately clear if he was asked, was why he wants to get Leeds back to the Premier League now and why he did not a year ago. Why is this now his priority? Aaronson and several others risked a total severance of their relationship with the supporters by, in the eyes of the fanbase at least, jumping ship as it sank into the Championship. There was little sign of any desire on their behalf to stay and fight to correct a wrong for which they held some personal responsibility and at no stage was it suggested by those around the club that Aaronson or his fellow outbound loanees were being sent away against their wishes.

The response to Aaronson's change of heart has been decidedly mixed. Some consider him a real asset at Championship level, the kind of dribbly attacker who might be able to unlock defences and give Farke a different dynamic in the 10 position or even as a narrow right-sided winger. Others point to the issues he had with physicality in a difficult first season in English football and that is evidently one area of criticism that the youngster was happy to address this week.

"I got a nutritionist and I gained six pounds of muscle mass, which is huge for me," he told The Athletic. "I had to gain weight. At Union, there wasn’t a ton of football. We were without the ball much more. It forced me to get stronger and win more duels." The proof, of course, will be in the pudding, especially in a division whose giant defenders had a real appetite for knocking the likes of Crysencio Summerville around last season.

Aaronson will face more questions upon his return from the Copa America, when he takes his place in Farke's 2024/25 Championship squad, before he once again comes face-to-face with the fans he cannot wait to play for. There is unfinished business, of course, but there is also an unfinished explanation to deliver.