Brenden Aaronson is one of several U.S. men’s national team stars linked with a potential European move this summer, but his club future is something that is going to have to wait for the time being.
Aaronson is with the USMNT ahead of Thursday’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal showdown vs. Mexico in Las Vegas. The Leeds United midfielder endured a tough debut campaign in England, suffering Premier League relegation and struggling to find any consistency during the second half of the season.
Alongside fellow USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams, Aaronson is one of several Leeds United players that will likely be on the move in the coming weeks, with both players hoping to get back into one of Europe’s top flights. When asked about his club future and what went wrong during 2022-23 at Elland Road, Aaronson admitted that international duty is his main focus.
“I’m sorry, but I’m with the national team, so I just want to focus on that and that’s where all my thoughts are right now,” Aaronson told media Tuesday. “That’s the only thing I’m focused on at this moment. I’m just focused on the next game in Mexico and trying to win this one so we can go into the next one.
“It’s been a long season, it’s been tough in a lot of things,” he added. “But coming here and being with the guys, it’s great. I’m really enjoying it. We’re having a great time as a group, and we’re looking forward to defending our title.”
Aaronson hit the ground running in his second spell with Jesse Marsch, helping Leeds United start the season unbeaten in four-consecutive matches, including upsetting Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road in mid-August. The 22-year-old’s first Leeds United goal kickstarted the shutout victory and gave him some early confidence following his transfer from Red Bull Salzburg last summer.
However, the early-season success didn’t last for Aaronson, Marsch, or Leeds, who only won two additional league matches before Marsch’s firing in February. Leeds United eventually suffered relegation, with Aaronson mainly featuring off the bench under both Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce.
With the dismal season now behind him, Aaronson has focused on getting back to his best on-and-off the field, knowing he has another opportunity to lift a Concacaf trophy by June’s end.
“We don’t really talk about personal things,” Aaronson said when asked about him and his teammates’ pending club futures. “I think coming into camp, it’s about having fun and seeing the guys for the first time in a while. I know a lot of you guys outside know that we like to get into golf, so we’ve had days to go out, enjoy ourselves, not focus on other things.
“We’ve been able to just get out and enjoy each other and enjoy the training sessions and really now it’s now full focus on the next game and Mexico and treating that like a final and then on to the next one.”
Aaronson will be fighting to get into B.J. Callaghan’s starting lineup on Thursday as the USMNT aims to claim its fourth head-to-head victory over Mexico in the last six meetings. The former Philadelphia Union homegrown scored once for the Americans in March’s 7-1 group stage win over Grenada and also logged 30 minutes against El Salvador as the USMNT clinched top spot in Group A.
Where Aaronson ends up by summer’s end remains to be seen, but a positive showing against Mexico, and possibly either Canada or Panama could play a key spark in what’s next for him at club level.