Tag: Brenden Aaronson

USMNT attacker Aaronson open to permanent Union Berlin stay

The 23-year-old’s loan from Leeds expires at the end of the season

Brenden Aaronson has said he could see himself staying at Union Berlin for the long term.

The U.S. national team attacker is currently on a season-long loan from Leeds, with his future at the end of the season unclear.

Aaronson played just one season at Leeds before moving to Germany on loan, following the club’s relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.

The 23-year-old has struggled to find minutes for much of the season at Union, but has recently started to find his footing. Aaronson has started three straight matches and has scored two goals in the past seven, following a period of a year and a half without a club goal.

As his loan winds down to its final two months, Aaronson told Get German Football News that he is open staying at Union.

“I can see myself remaining here,” Aaronson said.

“The club is amazing. it’s not up to me at the end of the day but I have so much respect for Union, the way it has been built, the staff, it’s an amazing family club and they’ve done an amazing job.

“For me, it’s (about) making the right decision in the summer, evaluating the year and going from there. Staying is an option but I can’t say much more.”

Aaronson said he’s also been keeping a close eye on his parent club, which is in third place in the Championship as it eyes an immediate promotion back to the Premier League.

“I’ve been paying close attention to Leeds, I know a lot of the guys, I get on with a lot of them, they are good guys,” he added.

“I’ve been paying attention because they’ve been having a fantastic season so it’s been great to watch.

“They just need to keep pushing because they’ve got good things coming their way at the end of the season.”

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USMNT calls Aaronson, Wright up for Nations League as injury replacements

Snubbed no more, Aaronson and Wright will get their shot at the Nations League

The U.S. men’s national team has had to make a pair of changes, with Gregg Berhalter adding Brenden Aaronson and Haji Wright to his squad for the Concacaf Nations League.

The duo will join up with the USMNT after Luca de la Torre and Josh Sargent had to withdraw from the team with injuries ahead of Thursday’s semifinal against Jamaica in Arlington, Texas.

De la Torre was forced to withdraw with what U.S. Soccer called a quadriceps strain, while Sargent — whose superb recent form earned him his first call-up since 2022 — will miss out due to ankle irritation.

The recall comes at a critical time for Aaronson. The New Jersey native said he is enduring “the toughest year of my life” on Saturday, shortly after what was arguably his best single-game performance with Union Berlin. Aaronson scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen, just two minutes after notching his first assist of the year.

Wright, meanwhile, is flying high. The USMNT recall comes a day after the Coventry City striker notched a stunning stoppage-time winner to send the Sky Blues through to the FA Cup semifinals. The Californian has eight goals in Coventry’s last 10 matches.

Despite the injury news, Berhalter had a series of options to sort through, particularly in replacing Sargent. Brandon Vazquez has been thriving since completing a winter transfer to Monterrey, while Jordan Pefok has started 10 straight for Borussia Mönchengladbach. If a wide attacker had been preferred, the list of players vying for a spot would have to include Kevin Paredes, Cade Cowell, Alex Zendejas, and Griffin Yow.

If Berhalter had concerns about the balance of his squad going too attack-heavy, Gianluca Busio, and Aidan Morris could have all been in the mix as well. Another option, Lennard Maloney, remains out for Heidenheim with a knock.

Updated USMNT Nations League finals roster

Goalkeepers (3): 22-Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), 18-Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City; 9/0), 1-Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest; 37/0)

Defenders (8): 2-Sergino Dest (PSV; 32/2), 23-Kristoffer Lund (Palermo; 3/0), 16-Mark McKenzie (Genk; 13/0), 13-Tim Ream (Fulham; 55/1), 3-Chris Richards (Crystal Palace; 14/1), 5-Antonee Robinson (Fulham; 39/4), 12-Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 28/3), 19-Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach; 8/0)

Midfielders (5): 4-Tyler Adams (Bournemouth; 36/1), 15-Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis; 9/0), 8-Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 49/11), 6-Yunus Musah (AC Milan; 33/0), 7-Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest; 24/7)

Forwards (7): 11-Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 38/8), 20-Folarin Balogun (Monaco; 8/3), 17-Malik Tillman (PSV; 8/0), 9-Ricardo Pepi (PSV; 22/10), 10-Christian Pulisic (AC Milan; 64/28), 21-Tim Weah (Juventus; 35/5), 14-Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 7/2)

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Brenden Aaronson: It’s been the toughest year of my life

Aaronson was reflective after a man-of-the-match performance for Union Berlin

Brenden Aaronson turned in a man-of-the-match display for Union Berlin on Saturday but after the game, his mood was more reflective than ecstatic.

Aaronson was hugely influential in his side’s 2-1 win over Werder Bremen, playing a big role in Yorbe Vertessen’s opener before scoring himself just two minutes later.

The 23-year-old’s performance came on the heels of a major blow. Just days earlier, Gregg Berhalter omitted Aaronson from the U.S. men’s national team roster for this month’s Nations League finals. On Sunday, Berhalter would end up recalling the Union Berlin man after injuries to Luca de la Torre and Josh Sargent.

Aaronson has struggled to assert himself at the club level for some time. After a hot start with Leeds last season, his form fell off in the second half of the campaign. The attacker was loaned out to Union for the 2023-24 season after Leeds was relegated, but has found life in the Bundesliga difficult as well.

Saturday’s goal was just the second of the season for Aaronson, who has started only eight of his 30 total appearances for Union. After one of his best performances in some time, the New Jersey native admitted that things haven’t been easy for him of late.

“It’s been the toughest year of my life,” Aaronson told reporters. “Going from Leeds and then not playing much here, it’s mentally a battle all the time, staying confident.”

Even amid a downturn in form at the club level, Aaronson had been consistently called into the USMNT before last week’s roster was released. Berhalter said he called the attacker after leaving him out of the squad, offering some words of encouragement.

“The message for him was, ‘I know this hurts. I know it’s a setback, but use it,” the coach said. “Use it to make you stronger, and to keep going and to keep fighting your way through through the obstacles that you have to overcome right now.’ It was a good conversation.”

Aaronson has now scored two goals in his last five games, as he continues to find more freedom under coach Nenad Bjelica.

“The opponent put a lot of pressure on our sixes with their sixes,” Bjelica said after the game on Saturday. “This left Brenden free in some situations. With Brenden and Yorbe, we wanted to field players who could do something in the smallest of spaces.”

Aaronson added: “I felt very comfortable in this position between the lines. It was about finding the free spaces. It just felt really good to me.”

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USMNT players in UEFA Champions League 2023-24

11 U.S. players are in the world’s biggest club competition

There was once a time where a U.S. men’s national team player being on a Champions League squad list — even if they might have no shot at playing in any actual games — was a very big deal.

It’s safe to say those days are gone, with no fewer than 11 U.S. players on the books for clubs that qualified for this year’s competition.

Sure, in some cases the player in question is probably a major longshot to even dress on gameday, but between Christian Pulisic’s sublime start to life at AC Milan and a USMNT trio at PSV, USMNT fans are likely going to be watching games on multiple screens just to keep up.

Here is the complete list of U.S. men’s players to make it to this year’s Champions League proper:

USMNT transfer rater: Grading every player’s move this summer

It’s a big summer for the USMNT, with a majority of its key players looking for new clubs

It’s a big summer for the U.S. men’s national team.

We aren’t talking about the Nations League or the Gold Cup here, though those are clearly significant in their own right. Instead, we’re talking about the summer transfer window, which promises to be one of the more active ones in recent memory for the USMNT.

Nearly all of the team’s top players have the potential to change clubs in the summer of 2023. With three years to go until a World Cup on home soil, the decisions USMNT players make this summer could determine their trajectory ahead of 2026.

With that in mind, we are tracking and rating all of the most significant completed moves for USMNT players this summer.

The Americans Abroad Five: Pulisic takes Serie A by storm

It’s early, but €20 million is looking like a real bargain for the USMNT star

It’s extremely early, but some Chelsea fans are already starting to have some regrets over letting Christian Pulisic go.

You can’t totally blame them. Though it is, once again, very early, you can’t really do better than Pulisic’s start at AC Milan: two games, two star performances, two goals and two wins.

At €20 million, Pulisic is certainly looking like a true bargain in a market where, to pick one completely random example, a club in west London paid €100 million for an unproven winger from the Ukrainian league.

As Milan captain Davide Calabria put it: “This is the best environment for him — the squad, the fans and this stadium — in order to to steal the limelight again.”

So far, it’s hard to argue with Calabria. Let’s get to the Five.

The Americans Abroad Five: A fresh start for Brenden Aaronson

There are some early signs of positivity in Aaronson’s loan at Union Berlin

Last season was rough on Brenden Aaronson.

After a promising start with Leeds, the U.S. national team attacker faded badly down the stretch en route to an ugly outcome for both player and team.

For Aaronson? Just one goal and three assists in more than 2,300 league minutes. For Leeds? Relegation.

Though a season in the Championship could have had its benefits for the 22-year-old, the chance to join a Bundesliga side in the Champions League was clearly too good to pass up.

It’s obviously way too soon to judge Aaronson’s loan with Union Berlin, but there are at least some early signs of positivity. Let’s look at Aaronson’s Bundesliga debut to kick off the Five this week.

Aaronson joins Union Berlin on season-long loan from Leeds

The 22-year-old will go from the Championship to the Champions League

Brenden Aaronson has joined Union Berlin on loan from Leeds until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Sky Germany reported that the deal does not include a purchase option.

Aaronson departs one year after joining Leeds from Red Bull Salzburg in a $30 million transfer. He was heavily involved in his first Premier League season, appearing in 36 of the club’s 38 league games while starting 28 times.

The 22-year-old started the season strong but struggled as the campaign wore on, finishing with just one goal and three assists as Leeds was ultimately relegated from the Premier League.

He will now get a fresh start in the Bundesliga with Union, which surprisingly finished fourth last season to qualify for the Champions League.

“Union’s path and the success of the last few years did not go unnoticed in either the USA, Austria or England,” Aaronson told the club’s website.

“Somehow, you always heard something about them. A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed that I would be here and able to play in the Champions League with Union. I’m looking forward to the year ahead with joy and confidence and want to help us have another successful season.”

Aaronson will join his sometimes USMNT teammate Jordan Pefok at Union, and will also reunite in the Bundesliga with his younger brother Paxten, who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt.

“Brenden’s commitment has made us very happy, he is a type of player we don’t have who will be good for our attacking game. Despite his young age, he already has a lot of international experience and will complement our squad at a high level,” said Oliver Ruhnert, Union’s managing director of men’s professional football.

Aaronson has 32 caps for the USMNT, appearing in all four of the team’s 2022 World Cup matches off the bench.

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The Americans Abroad Five season review: The best and worst of 2022-23

Some teams were fun, some very much weren’t. Some players broke out, while others broke down

With the European club season in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take stock of the year that was for Americans Abroad.

In many ways, 2022-23 felt like a preamble, a precursor to a much more significant club season to come. For the future of the U.S. men’s national team, what comes next will be more significant than what came before.

That’s because so many vital USMNT players are unsettled due to the nature of their 2022-23 campaign — some are ready to move up the food chain due to standout seasons, while others need a change of scenery for less positive reasons.

Before we turn the page to next season, let’s take a look back by handing out a few accolades for some notable Americans Abroad.

The Americans Abroad Five: So, who’s getting relegated?

Several USMNT players are battling to avoid the drop as the season winds down

Last season’s crop of top-flight Americans Abroad saw their ranks thinned significantly after a number of relegations.

Some moved on to bigger and better things (Luca de la Torre), some dropped down a division and thrived (Tanner Tessmann and Josh Sargent), while some saw their personal stock sink along with their team (George Bello and Gianluca Busio).

This season appears to be mercifully lighter when it comes to Americans facing the drop in major European leagues, but there are still some notable names who could be sent packing to the second tier in the coming weeks.

This weekend saw some significant movement, both good and bad, for the relegation-threatened Americans Abroad. Let’s start the Five with a look at a vital weekend in the race to avoid the drop.