Leeds United star still struggling from same old problem despite Zinedine Zidane comparison

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Daniel Farke guided Leeds United to a third win of the season on Saturday afternoon at Cardiff City, securing a fourth clan sheet in six Championship games.

Goals from Largie Ramazani and Joel Piroe saw Leeds secure all three points against Cardiff. On the face of it, two goals, a clean sheet and an away win in the Championship is more than a solid Leeds result.

But against 10 men, Leeds still looked lacklustre. Even Daniel Farke said Leeds should have got the job done earlier while Ilia Gruev was on the receiving end of boos from Leeds fans for passing backwards.

Brenden Aaronson laid on his first assist of the season as he fed a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Piroe to score Leeds’ second. It comes after Farke compared Aaronson to Zidane before the 2-0 win.

But the USA star is still struggling with the same-old problem that saw Leeds fans criticise the £25m ace in the first place, and the stats are proof following Saturday’s win in Wales.

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Brenden Aaronson is Championship’s second-most dispossessed player

In Wales, the former Salzburg star was guilty of losing possession on four occasions according to stats provided by WhoScored. Indeed, no other player was dispossessed more during Saturday’s 2-0 victory.

After six Championship matches, Aaronson has now been dispossessed 15 times. Only one other player in the Championship has lost the ball on more occasions, in the form of Sheffield United’s Callum O’Hare.

One could argue that Aaronson is trying to create and therefore, will lose the ball. But the main criticism posed to Aaronson in a Leeds shirt is his lack of physicality and the stats prove it remains a problem.

Aaronson played less than Callum O’Hare and Duncan Watmore

Even more damning is that Aaronson has played far less minutes than O’Hare, and the other player to lose the ball 15 times in Millwall’s Watmore. Tony Dorigo said Aaronson has put on weight in muscle.

But even that added bulk is not stopping Aaronson from being able to retain possession. Perhaps, another season in England’s second tier will help the American and he will improve as the season grows.

However, for Leeds fans, the difficulty remains to see Aaronson continue to lose the ball due to a lack of strength. A player that the club paid a whopping £25m to sign back in the summer of 2022.