Yup. It’s time for his own thread. The kids upside is insane. Hype train is in full gear. He’s gonna be at Reyna and pulisics level very shortly. Has he just forced his way into the starting lineup? Or is he X factor off the bench? He’s at least at X factor status IMO , chasing starter status
hes looking electric, thats for sure. i still like him off the bench, i think. the thing that he lacks (for me) is hes relatively low usage, he doesnt get on the ball enough for a 90 min player- but as a spark off the bench that concern is gone. and all around- hes good pressing so he could come on for a musah against tired legs, keep that up and give the offensive edge, or as a wide attacker. hes so confident right now, playing so loose in both these matches...its a liiiitle bit mathis-y (and thats crazy high praise in my book)
Duuuuude Cleatus is a perfect comparison! I know that is not a comparison to throw around lightly but it absolutely fits here
I really like what I've seen of him (which admittedly is these two frienlies and all touch videos with RBS). Good skill. Pushes the attack. Good vision.
Count me in on the hype train. Quick, good dribbler, extremely smart, hard worker. I don’t know if I have him in my best 11 quite yet, but I think he will play a big role in qualifying. His energy and passing range make him very useful as a sub when we are protecting a lead and looking to counter, but I think his play in tight spaces will also be very useful against bunkering teams. my guess is that he moves to at least a Europa-league regular in a top 4 league by the summer of 2023 at the latest. He is honestly the type of smart buy Dortmund would make after selling Sancho.
I thought he was very lively in the two matches. My only issue (same with de la Torre) is that he got two sub appearances, and I hate judging a player too much on those. Specifically with the NI match, the game had really opened up in the 2nd half, and Aaronson certainly benefited from that. And some here will likely say "that's where he's most useful now, as a sub", and I wouldn't really argue. But again, I would have preferred to see him get a start, as oftentimes, especially in friendlies, the 1st/2nd halves are two different games, with the first being more similar to a "real" match. Like de la Torre, hell even Dike, I look forward to seeing him get more consistent minutes as a starter. I think he has the type of potential to push Reyna/Pulisic for starting positions, which would be awesome, and force everybody to maintain a high level of form vs. arriving into camp effectively knowing you're gonna be starting every game.
One of the things I had forgotten, is that 12 months ago when Olympic qualis were supposed to take place, he would have been on that roster. McKenzie as well. I think the stars were overall against us to qualify this year. Anyway, I love the kid's spark. I watch every all touch video I can of him at RBS and he looks exactly the same in those highlights as he looked off the bench for the US. He's a 90 minute player right now for both club and country (if needed for the latter). The question is who would he unseat in the starting XI for the US? He is a real luxury player off the bench if that's how he's used, but he'd be my go-to player if we need a goal, as well as my go to player if we want to add to a lead late on to salt away a game against tired opposition. I am so excited to see how his game will translate to a tougher standard of opposition at the club level week in and week out. I hope there is some under the table agreement between RBS and RBL for him to move on in 12-24 months. Off topic, but why on earth did RBS not send Haaland to RBL, and why on earth didn't RBL raise holy hell inside RB corporate to get him instead of him going to BVB. There must have been some accounting benefit of getting a transfer fee at that point. It's not like Dortmund as a city is dramatically more appealing than Leipzig. Neither is a real garden spot. Maybe he wanted to have Reus as a teammate? Or Jadon? (Edit: I answered my own question, Rangnick said he couldn't guarantee first team football right from the start for the kid, which seems absolutely the worst decision in the history of the club. Find a way coach to get Werner and Haaland on the field. Everyone and his cousin could see the kid was special.)
Brendan aaronson You don't appreciate him enough to spell his first name correctly, or to capitalize his last name lol
@bungadiri Sorry to wake you from your slumber. ... not really Are you the man to see about getting a spellcheck on this player's name? It is really a bad look for us to not have the lad's name spelled properly.
The report on him is he is a high-energy player that does better if he plays 60 minutes or less. Once he gets tired his game becomes more pedestrian.
He anticipates the opponent's next move well, that is why he steals/intercepts balls like a defensive player.
I've watched a few of his recent full 90s and have been amazed that he was still able to press late in the game. His fitness is improving still, but it seems like he's going to be a 90-minute energizer bunny. Of course, having him for 60 minutes would be great, too.
His best quality right now is as a super sub. I think he can really impact a game in that manner. I've been on the bandwagon since watching him pick apart SKC in the MLS is Back tournament. I love his soccer IQ, work rate, and ability to find a pass. I also like his versatility being able to play as a wing or a more attacking/pressing 8. He's going to be a big part of this qualification cycle for the US.
His high pressing will be great to kill off a match, his energizer bunny harrassing will be a thorn in anyone's hopes to pull one back, and might even snag a goal off a tired center back's error.
I could see him push for a starting spot, Mason Mount-Style. From a political stand point, he may need to first move to a Top-5.
Ideally because of 3 qualifiers per window he could come off the bench for the final 20 or so minutes in the 1st and 3rd games while starting the 2nd and be a huge positive impact because the starters can't go 90 minutes for 3 games in a ten day time span.
It's not a direct comparison, but Mount is the player that gives me the same vibe as Aaronson does. High soccer IQ, good in the press, and excellent work rate. I think Aaronson is a bit more athletic than Mount while Mount is more tactically aware. But I think the comparisons have a lot of merit.
Pro's: Just getting better and better, showing an ability to do a wide variety of things: Dribble at people, score beautiful goals, provide that final pass. He also adds depth to a position that's gotten repeatedly smashed with injuries: Pulisic's been hurt on and off Weah missed basically all of '19-'20 Morris is out for all of '21 Llanez got knocked out of Qualifying before it even started. Was Boyd hurt last year too? Not that I think he's relevant. So adding that depth is huge. I think he's already automatically the #2 left wing, and #3 Right wing (don't know if he can play there but who cares). I'm also curious about what he can do from the middle as I know that's where people were thinking he might play a a year or 18 months ago or whatever, and it would be great to have an option we can throw in as a 10. Right now we don't have a guy that can lock that down, we can throw Reyna there, Pulisic, Ferreira, Lletget, and honestly, w/what I'm seeing from Aaronson, I'd put him in there, if Berhalter is bound and determined to start Lletget centrally. Screw that, put in Aaronson, or Pulisic and move the other to the left. But yeah, needless to say, his performance this year with RB Leipzig is like the 2021 version of the '20-'21 best case scenario McKennie season we've had at Juventus. Aaronson has been special. It's very exciting. W/every guy comes a caveat. I think it's stuck that McKennie isn't ideal on the more defensive end of central midfielder gigs, I think on Hoppe, we remain unsure of his ceiling and floor because other than Harit, that entire Schalke attack is dog manure, and so Hoppe's goal drought could be because he's not actually good (didn't score at lower levels either) or it could be because Schalke sucks. We don't know. I'm deeply encouraged by the whispers of genuinely legit teams sniffing around him for a transfer this summer. They're not going to just throw money at someone because of a hat trick three or four months ago, if they throw money, it's because they think there's something there that's worth the downside of him being nothing. W/Aaronson my fears are basically size and athleticism. He's not particularly tall or big at all, which has been an issue that has plagued many of our technically skilled midfielders forever. Other than Dempsey I struggle to think of any with actual size that were this gifted at least the past two decades. Additionally he really does seem at the edge of the athleticism angle. Does he have just enough to get by? I'm not really sure. Jamaica is a super athletic team so that helps, but playing well in the Austrian Bundesliga won't answer that, playing well in Germany would answer it. Regardless, I think he's definitely played his way into at bare minimum, a member of the 23 for qualifying campaigns. If his athleticism can hold up, he becomes a legit bench option with starting upside for the 11 as well. It's astonishing to think that just four years ago, we could start Pulisic in the midfield, and Dempsey coming off a major heart surgery/issue and that was the extent of the talent of our midfield in terms of international quality, and just four years later, we've got literally a half dozen options in the attacking side of the midfield of quality. It's astonishing: Pulisic, Weah, Reyna, Musah, Aaronson, even McKennie as the dude running into the box, and in waiting we have guys like Morris, and the lottery balls that are Ledezma, Llanez, and KDLF (heck maybe Mendez gets his stock back?) and others (my long lost dream of Taitague, which I've basically buried). It's just beyond amazing.
That's typical with young players but agree he should be sub with USA at this point. Let him build stamina at club.
I think there's a question of whether Aaronson's a gamebreaker type at the top flights of soccer, and I think there's a question of whether he can do it as a starter for the US (less about minutes, more about the timing of his fresh legs and the quality of opposition). But that said ... he was one of the better MLS players at 19, if a little complementary in nature. He's come into Salzburg blaring and he looked fantastic in these friendlies. Athletically, the speed is there. He looked as fast as anyone on the team. I don't think there's a question of if he contributes, but how high. But right now, he's absolutely a dude I'm estatic to have as technically depth. Our B attacking line might be Aaronson - Dike (your choice) - Weah. And that's with Morris hurt! EDIT: Yes, I'm basically agreeing with you but am excited about Aaronson.