Leeds United journalist Phil Hay has revealed some of the details regarding a potential move for Brenden Aaronson.
Aaronson is a name that has recently emerged for Leeds as a target during the January transfer window. The American winger has cut an impressive figure at current side RB Salzburg, scoring 10 goals and chipping in with 12 assists in his 51 appearances for the Austrian outfit.
It’s no surprise to see why Leeds would be wanting to try and bring him on board, as they look to add some additional firepower to the side and hopefully push themselves away from the relegation zone in the Premier League.
Speaking on the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show, Hay discussed what the details were with regards to the Aaronson deal and what he felt would happen.
He hinted that based on what was happening with Salzburg and the player himself, unless something ‘drastic’ happened in the last few days of the transfer window, it was more than likely the deal would happen in the summer rather than in January.
He said: “The option obviously was there to make a third bid. As it stands, I don’t think they have, and I suspect the reason they haven’t is that they don’t think Salzburg are going to budge on this one.
“Salzburg haven’t really looked like budging on it since they submitted the first bit of £15m; [they] haven’t said yes to the second bid of £20m.
“Part of me thinks if you’re Salzburg and it’s so apparently obvious that Leeds are going to go back in for him in the summer, keep him for the rest of the season and take your money further down the line.
“He is a player that Leeds really, really want, and I do think that Aaronson will end up at Elland Road at some stage, but it looks highly unlikely to be in this window.
“From what I understand, he’s really keen on the move. But it’s never been his intention to kind of bully his way out of Salzburg mid-season when they’ve got the Champions League to come and they’re top of the Austrian Bundesliga and everything else. So it’s not looking likely, that one, unless something dramatic goes on.”
TIF Thoughts on Phil Hay’s comments regarding Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United…
Do you think Aaronson will join?
Yes
No
It does sound as if Leeds aren’t going to be getting Aaronson this window, and instead, the focus will be on making sure he gets in during the summer.
He comes across as someone that could have an impact on this Leeds side – you just have to hope that the club can at least lock in a deal as soon as possible, because the worst thing that could happen is for his form to pick up, Salzburg increase his value and Leeds find themselves priced out of a move come the end of the season.
Given how the warning signs were there in October that they needed to expand the squad, you’d have thought they’d have acted quicker in the window to find a solution. Hopefully, it doesn’t come back to haunt them.
In other news: ‘That’s the only way it can change’ – Insider drops interesting Aaronson claim at Leeds