Brenden Aaronson’s 2023 has started very differently to his 2022. This time last year, Aaronson had just been in the middle of an argument between two clubs desperate for him to play for them. Leeds United were offering millions so Aaronson could inspire us away from the relegation zone; Fizzy Salzburg were turning down the money so he could help them complete the formality of winning a league and cup double, while dreaming of upsetting Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Bayern ultimately thrashed the Salzburg Franchise 8-2 over two legs, but Aaronson gave them hope in the first game, creating the opening goal (sort of), only for Bayern to equalise in stoppage time. A few days later, he scored in the 94th minute of a dramatic league victory over Wolfsberger. Exactly a year on from that win against Wolfsberger, Aaronson was back in the number 11 he wore at Salzburg, except now he was playing for Leeds United’s Under-21s, having lost his form, his place in the first team, and the manager who had so much faith in him.

Aaronson playing the opening half of the U21s 2-1 win over Aston Villa at Elland Road alongside record signing Georginio Rutter was a sign things haven’t gone to plan for either player in recent weeks. But when things start to go wrong for an athlete, there’s no shame in starting from scratch and building back up again. Rutter is still only 20 years old; Aaronson was classed as an overage player by all of six weeks — stand Brenden next to matchwinner Sean McGurk, the academy’s favourite little troll, and it would be difficult to distinguish which one is meant to be the grizzled senior player.

With Rutter starting in the number 10 role, Aaronson began the game on the left wing, before switching flanks with Sonny Perkins midway through the half. Averaging just 21.5 minutes per game across his last four Leeds appearance, it was a chance for Aaronson to regain the rhythm attackers rely on — Joffy Gelhardt has previously spoken about the difficulty in being thrown on to make an impact for the first team when he only has brief cameos in his legs, so this was an opportunity for Brenden to sharpen his tools.

It wasn’t exactly the best of Aaronson, but it was an encouraging start. I barely noticed Rutter in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch, aside from an early shot he put wide, whereas Brenden Aaronson was definitely out there doing Brenden Aaronson things: a couple of nice touches, a couple of soft giveaways, lots of movement across the frontline. It has been painful watching Aaronson’s shooting for the senior side recently, weakly scuffing attempt after attempt tamely past the goalframe or into the ‘keeper’s arms. But playing against his peers he no longer looked so timid, played into the inside right channel by Kris Moore, taking a touch, and decisively flashing a shot across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner just before half-time.

???? "A touch of class!" pic.twitter.com/VTDonli3Uf

— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 20, 2023

Aaronson’s contribution was over at half-time, when he was replaced by Sam Greenwood. Greenwood impressed as a number 10 after the break, creating chances and hitting the bar from long range. Like so many players at Leeds, Aaronson and Greenwood will be reading news of Javi Gracia’s imminent appointment and welcoming a fresh start under a new manager. If Gracia is appointed on Tuesday, Wednesday morning training will provide a clean slate and the chance for Aaronson and Greenwood to compete against each other and show Gracia they should be in his team.

A minute after scoring, Aaronson was presented with a similar chance, ignoring the option to shoot early and trying to dance into the goal instead. His quick feet beat two defenders, only to shank an even uglier shot than usual harmlessly wide while under pressure from a third defender. The chance ended with the same frustration that had supporters calling for him to be dropped last month, but began with the excitement and trickery that charmed us so much in his first few months at Leeds. If Brenden is still learning how to deal with the challenges of being a senior player at Leeds United, hopefully last year taught him that it’s not how you start, but how you finish. ⬢