Brenden Aaronson could get the Largie Ramazani treatment after woeful finding from Leeds United win

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Leeds United got everyone back smiling after finally managing to win a game on Tuesday, but Daniel Farke should still be quite annoyed with Brenden Aaronson.

Just as it looked like Leeds United were falling apart again at the worst possible time, they picked up a vital victory over Middlesbrough thanks to Dan James’ early strike.

With Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United losing again and Burnley dropping points, Leeds have found themselves back on top of the Championship table, if only on goal difference.

With the defensive partnership between Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu looking strong in Pascal Struijk’s absence, Karl Darlow putting in a solid display and Patrick Bamford making a big impact, there’s plenty for Daniel Farke to be cheerful about.

However, he should still have a bone to pick with Brenden Aaronson after his poor duel success rate at the Riverside.

Brenden Aaronson won just 30% of his duels vs Middlesbrough

Though Aaronson worked hard and looked lively at points, it was a largely ineffective performance from the American as he returned to the starting XI.

There has been a huge debate among Leeds fans about who should play in the attacking midfield role, with Aaronson’s form declining in recent weeks.

Willy Gnonto was handed a chance against Luton Town but struggled to get on the ball in a crowded midfield.

Aaronson came straight back in against Boro and was equally anonymous. According to FotMob, he created just 0.03 ExpectedAssists and had no shots at goal.

Additionally, he had a duel success rate of just 30% after winning three and losing 10.

Duels mean a lot to Farke and he called out Largie Ramazani for his lack of ‘maturity’ in them last week.

He said after the Luton draw: “We wanted a player on the pitch a bit more solid in the duels, I was not 100 % happy with last performances in terms of the maturity in duels of Largie.

“He has to step up a bit if he wants game time.”

Farke went into more detail on his criticism ahead of the Boro match but pointedly celebrated with Ramazani after the win as they displayed a united front.

Yet, it will be interesting to see if Aaronson suffered a similar lambasting from the manager.

Willy Gnonto and Patrick Bamford should start against Preston

Though Aaronson did improve slightly against Boro after being dropped, it still wasn’t a good enough attacking performance to keep his place.

Farke explained Gnonto’s move to the bench by saying the Italian was still suffering from an ankle issue but he looked fit as a fiddle when he came on, setting up Bamford’s disallowed goal.

Gnonto has certainly earned another chance to impress after his bright cameo and should start against Preston.

So should Bamford, if he’s up to it after so many injury problems. Joe Rodon labelled Bamford’s cameo as ‘absolutely outstanding’ as he looked dangerous in attack and worked hard defensively.

With Joel Piroe continuing to struggle, the veteran striker should absolutely come into the team.