There has inevitably been chatter around the strength of Leeds United‘s attacking options after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Whites head into the extended three-week break for international matches off the back of an unbeaten start to the season in the Premier League, but they have drawn three of their five matches.
Daniel Farke‘s side only scored two goals in those three draws against Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Palace, and the spotlight is now on some of the club’s attacking players.
One of the forward options who has come under some scrutiny from supporters is American attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson, but he can be overcriticised at times.
Why Brenden Aaronson has not been a Leeds flop
It would have been fair to call the USA international a flop after his first season at Elland Road, because the club paid £24.7m to sign him from Salzburg and he scored one goal in 40 games as they were relegated from the Premier League.
However, since returning to West Yorkshire in the summer of 2024, after a loan spell with Union Berlin, the 25-year-old has proven himself to be a valuable, albeit offensively inconsistent, player for Farke.
The German head coach started him in 43 of the club’s 46 Championship games in the 2024/25 title-winning season and in 30 of their 38 matches in the Premier League last term, which speaks to his faith in the midfield talent.
|
Brenden Aaronson |
24/25 Championship |
25/26 Premier League |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
46 |
37 |
|
Starts |
43 |
30 |
|
xG |
11.43 |
4.55 |
|
Goals |
9 |
4 |
|
Big chances created |
9 |
9 |
|
xA |
6.05 |
3.63 |
|
Assists |
2 |
5 |
Aaronson can be ineffective offensively at times, evidenced by his current run of 22 league games without a goal, but a return of 13 goals and 18 ‘big chances’ created is far from horrendous in those two seasons.
He can be frustrating at times, yes, but the attacking midfielder has done enough since returning in 2024 to prove that his career at Elland Road has not been a total flop.
How Leeds wasted money on a worse signing than Aaronson
Whilst Aaronson has turned his career in West Yorkshire around and prevented himself from leaving as a complete failure, the same cannot be said for some of the other players who joined in the same window as him in 2022.
In the summer of 2022, the Whites attempted to revamp their attack with several signings, including Aaronson, and one of them was Colombian winger Luis Sinisterra.
Leeds swooped to sign the versatile attacker, who could play on either flank in the forward line, from Dutch side Feyenoord for a fee of around £21m.
It looked like an exciting signing on paper for Jesse Marsch’s team because the winger had scored 35 goals and provided 29 assists in 113 matches for the Eredivisie outfit.
Sinisterra, who was on around £65k-per-week in his first season at Elland Road, struggled with form and fitness during the 2022/23 campaign, missing 15 matches through injury.
The now-27-year-old showed flashes of quality at times, scoring five goals in 19 matches in the Premier League, but his all-round play on the flank was not good enough.
|
22/23 Premier League |
Luis Sinisterra |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
19 |
|
xG |
3.73 |
|
Goals |
5 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
Key passes per game |
0.5 |
|
xA |
0.88 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Red cards |
1 |
|
Penalties committed |
1 |
Sinisterra’s complete lack of creativity on the wing was a problem for the Whites, because he failed to create a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates in 882 minutes of football.
In fact, the Colombia international recorded more red cards and gave away more penalties than he created ‘big chances’ in the Premier League, which speaks to how little of an impact he made creatively.
Leeds paid £24m, including the £21m fee and roughly £3m in wages, for Sinisterra for the 2022/23 campaign, and he did not step up to the mark creatively or by being available on a regular basis.
He was unable to save the club from relegation and opted to move on from Elland Road after they went down to the Championship, joining Bournemouth on loan before signing for them permanently for £20m in February 2024.
Whilst the Whites recouped £20m from the Cherries almost two years later, the club were still rinsed dry of £24m in his first year at the club without getting much back from the winger, as they lost plenty of revenue after being relegated from the Premier League.
Sinisterra was a much bigger flop than Aaronson because he never came back to redeem himself at Elland Road and left West Yorkshire as a failed signing by Leeds.