Amid club uncertainty, Brenden Aaronson ‘not thinking about anything’ beyond USMNT

Aaronson may have a lot on his plate this summer, but he says he’s fully focused on the USMNT

It will be a busy summer for the U.S. men’s national team, but few players have more on their plate than Brenden Aaronson.

The U.S. men’s national team midfielder had at one point lost his place in Gregg Berhalter’s roster, but is back with the group assembled for friendlies against Colombia (June 8 in Landover, Md.) and Brazil (June 12 in Orlando).

With the Copa América rapidly approaching, it’s a big moment for Aaronson to make sure he seals a place on the USMNT’s final 26-player roster.

However, the New Jersey native has a potentially complicated summer ahead of him in terms of his club situation. Aaronson spent the season on loan with Union Berlin, experiencing the highs and lows of a campaign that ended with a narrow final-day escape from the threat of relegation.

That survival does not appear to mean that Aaronson will be returning to the German capital. The 23-year-old is under contract with Leeds, who missed out on a return to the Premier League after falling to Southampton in the Championship’s promotion playoff final.

With the caliber of league and financial concerns involved, it figures to be a convoluted offseason for Aaronson, with Union confirming that he will return to England.

Beyond that, clarity will have to wait. For his part, Aaronson said on Friday that the USMNT will get his full focus in the meantime.

“I’m just kind of focused on the national team and having my full responsibility here. I’m not thinking about anything else, and that’s where my headspace is,” Aaronson told reporters. “I really enjoyed the end part of the season with Union, even though it was a bit of a relegation battle towards the end, but I got to play the last 10 games, that was really great for my development and for me.”

Aaronson: End of Union Berlin season ‘crazy’

Aaronson may not be sure where his next step is at the club level, but he did reiterate that that the late-season pressure-cooker with Union Berlin — while stressful — was a boost for his career.

It was also, in his own words, “crazy.” A last-gasp Janik Haberer goal following a saved penalty kick gave Union a 2-1 win over SC Freiburg on the final day of the Bundesliga season. The three points pulled Die Eisernen level with VfL Bochum, with the latter ending up in the playoff thanks to Union’s superior goal difference.

“I’m sure a lot of people were paying attention to the table,” said Aaronson, giving his first-hand account of a wild sequence of events. “My parents were telling me that the live updates [had] every team just like, going up and down in moments. It was crazy.”

Aaronson got the assist on Union’s opener on the day, and was substituted in the 80th minute. The USMNT man admitted he let his hopes start to build, only for late drama to see both teams exchange goals.

“When I came off, it was 1-0. And so it was like, I thought it was pretty comfortable in that moment. But then of course, it’s never comfortable,” explained Aaronson with a laugh. “[Freiburg] come down, they score and a lot of emotions came out of me. I don’t know what I was probably saying to the ref.

“But yeah, after that we scored the crazy — you know, [Noah Atubolu] saves the PK, comes right to [Janik Haberer] on top of the box and we score. It was a crazy way to end the season, but it was an amazing way, and it felt really good. It felt like, yeah, just the whole weight off your shoulders.”

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