The recent injuries that Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev suffered have put Leeds United in a difficult position.
The Whites are currently in need of a solution as they only have two senior defensive-midfield alternatives available to them
Chekhiou Kouyate is one of the names associated with a possible move [Yorkshire Evening Post, 10 October] to Elland Road, and Farke has also considered diving into the free agent market.
However, Brenden Aaronson stated earlier this week that he could perform a job in the middle of the park if necessary in remarks to American media that LeedsLive summarized (10 October).
It seems like Leeds would be foolish to try the US international in Ampadu’s now-vacant position, even though he is up for the job.
Leeds United doesn’t need Brenden Aaronson.
Up until now, Leeds’ season has been somewhat of a rollercoaster, with many highs and lows.
Aaronson’s strong performances this season have put him in a sort of redemption arc, but defensively, he can’t compete with the Welshman who isn’t playing.
According to Sofascore, Aaronson has only been able to record 0.1 interceptions and 1.3 tackles per game during the Championship season thus far.
In contrast, Ampadu has quadrupled the US international’s tackle total with an average of 2.6 and has racked up 0.9 interceptions per game.
The sections of the pitch that each player occupies make these statistics somewhat predictable, but comparing the two reveals how different they are from one another.
In terms of victories, Aaronson has won 47% of his aerial battles and only 39% of his ground-based ones.
The Welshman has once again trumped the 23-year-old in this department and has won 68 per cent of his attempted ground duels with an even better success rate of 71 per cent in terms of aerial duels.
These figures only represent a small portion of the available data, but they demonstrate the magnitude of the error the Whites would commit if they substituted the US international for Ampadu during his 10-week absence [Yorkshire Evening Post, 30 September].
Although Farke has a lot of choices to make in the upcoming weeks, Aaronson’s placement at center-midfield ought to be a clear-cut answer.
Graham Smyth highlighted Pascal Struijk’s comments regarding Illan Meslier’s howler against Sunderland in other Leeds news.