‘He was like Lionel Messi!’ - Leeds advised against inviting offers for USMNT star Brenden Aaronson in summer transfer window

Aaronson arrived in West Yorkshire during the summer of 2022 as an exciting prospect, with a £25 million ($33m) transfer fee changing hands. His debut campaign, which delivered only one goal, was to end in disappointment as Leeds suffered relegation out of the Premier League.

Supporters did not take kindly to seeing some players immediately jump ship, with Aaronson heading to Germany on loan at Union Berlin. He returned to Championship plans in 2024-25, but had much to prove and continued to attract unwelcome attention for a while.

A title-winning campaign helped to get a few back on board, but questions were still asked of whether the 25-year-old was cut out for life among the elite. His hard-running, and four goals, helped to turn the tide in 2025-26 - while securing a spot in his country’s plans for a home World Cup finals.

No extension to his terms at Elland Road has been agreed as yet, so would Leeds consider selling if bids were tabled in the current window? Quizzed on what the future should hold for Aaronson, ex-Whites defender Kilgallon - speaking exclusively to GOAL in association with a Kalshi promo code - said: “There were parts even in the Championship, when they got up, that he wasn't the fans’ favourite. And then start of the Premier League, he was getting some stick. I'd have got to start in front of him sometimes given how some of the fans were thinking about him!

“But he turned it round. For the last probably three quarters of the season, half of the season, the Premier League, he was like Messi. He was an absolute joke and he turned all the fans round to actually say, ‘this lad's a player’.

“His attitude's brilliant. The manager obviously likes him. I'm surprised he's not starting the World Cup, actually. I've watched a few games and he's been on the bench.”

Kilgallon added on the important intangible qualities that Aaronson adds to Daniel Farke’s squad: “You can say maybe you need to upgrade, but you've got to keep that changing room good as well. I think you can bring players in and upgrade them, but you've still got to have good lads in there. And I think Farke likes that.

“I've heard that Brenden Aaronson is liked. The changing room's good there. You've got to be careful who you bring in now. I mean, you look at Chelsea and stuff like that. The changing room looks awful, doesn't it? They've got all these players in who they've upgraded and given them 200 grand a week, but it looks like poison there to me. And I don't think that's what Farke wants, or any of the Leeds United fans or the owners.”

Aaronson is in the most prominent of shop windows at present and was handed a starting berth by Mauricio Pochettino for the United States’ final World Cup Group D fixture against Turkiye.

He will be hoping to get more minutes in a last-32 showdown with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and across an ongoing bid to go deep into a major international tournament. Once that event comes to a close, then attention will turn back to club matters and what happens next on contract and transfer fronts at Leeds.