Leeds United wanted Brenden Aaronson to stay at the club this summer following relegation.
That is according to Phil Hay and Tom Bogert of the Athletic, who today put together a long read on what went wrong for Aaronson at Elland Road.
As per the report, Leeds were keen to keep Aaronson and looked to convince him to stay and be part of the project that looked to take the club back to the Premier League.
However, with both loan and permanent release clauses becoming active upon relegation, it was down to Aaronson and he opted to make the switch to Union Berlin.
Aaronson put pen-to-paper on a season-long-loan deal that does not include an option-to-buy, leaving his future wide open in 12 months’ time.
Leeds wanted to keep Aaronson before Union Berlin move
The 22-year-old only arrived from Red Bull Salzburg in a deal worth £25 million last summer, but failed to get anywhere near justifying that price tag.
A year in the Bundesliga could be just what he needs to get his confidence back on the pitch, though whether he would be welcome back at Leeds is another question.
If Leeds were to get promoted this season, Aaronson would no longer have an active release clause in his contract, making it harder to move him on if they so wished.
At this point, it is difficult to see Leeds supporters welcoming any of the loan contingent back next summer, regardless of how well they perform.
Leeds clearly feel Aaronson still has plenty of potential but it does not feel like he will ever fulfil it in West Yorkshire.
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