It is a case of ticking off the remaining fixtures in the Championship for Leeds United now. Another win and another step closer towards a return to the Premier League, this time at Coventry.
A professional job from Leeds saw Daniel Farke’s men put aside the Frank Lampard rivalry and the form of Coventry City to cruise to a comfortable 2-0 win at the CBS Arena. Joel Piroe and Jayden Bogle scoring.
But it should have been a whole lot more than just 2-0. Leeds scored seven against Cardiff on Saturday and had it been something similar, it would not have been at all undeserved but Leeds proved wasteful.
Joel Piroe and Dan James missed sitters while there were many occasions in which the final pass was not executed well enough to put Coventry to the sword. One player guilty of such was Brenden Aaronson.
Jon Newsome doesn’t think Brenden Aaronson is a no.10
Aaronson has now started 29 consecutive Championship games in the 10 role. He joined Leeds with the belief he would play behind the striker and played as an attacking midfielder with Austrian side Salzburg.
So it comes as interesting when Jon Newsome says he does not believe Aaronson is a no.10. Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds after the win, Newsome said again that he thinks Aaronson is playing out of position.
“He struggles in that position, he struggles to be a natural 10. To unpick the lock, he’s not that kind of player. He’s playing out of position. He gives his all, full of commitment, full of running,” Aaronson said.
“Has he got the quality to play in that 10 role going forward? I don’t think so – I think he looks a little lost. There’s parts of the game when he receives the ball and he doesn’t know where he is, his surroundings.”
Brenden Aaronson stats for Leeds in win over Coventry City
Daniel Farke hinted Aaronson could start every game between now and the end of the season before the game. He is a fan, with Farke previously claiming Aaronson can produce Zinedine Zidane-like passes.
Brenden Aaronson’s stats for Leeds in win vs Coventry:
- 91 minutes played, 7.3 Fotmob rating, 0.07 XG+XA
- Two shots, 0 on target, six touches in opposition box
- 44 touches, 22 successful passes, 29 attempted
- Two defensive actions, one tackle, three recoveries
- Four duels won, four duels lost, one foul, fouled once
But the question marks remain. Last night, Aaronson tried things that simply did not come off. When the USA star had the ball, Leeds failed to maximise the promise of the situations they found themselves in.
He certainly wasn’t the only one – James was more wasteful than he has been in any other game. But it is a growing trend that Aaronson gets in the right positions but fails to get the best out of his chances.
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