Leeds United star reflects on 'whirlwind' reason for key international absence as World Cup edges closer
Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson had a special reason for leaving the USA's World Cup training camp.
Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson believes he is heading into a home World Cup with the USA off the back of his best-ever domestic campaign.
Aaronson was Leeds’ joint-second most productive player in the Premier League last season, registering four goals and five assists in 37 appearances. Those nine direct contributions left him level with £16million summer arrival Noah Okafor, the pair behind 14-goal top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Over half of those nine contributions came in a seven-game period through Christmas in which Aaronson helped Leeds find their form on the way to a 14th-placed finish. The 25-year-old’s last goals came in a 4-3 defeat at Newcastle United on January 7.
Aaronson was an unused substitute in the USA’s first of two pre-tournament warm-up friendlies, a 3-2 win over Senegal on Sunday. They face Germany on Saturday night before kicking off their home World Cup against Paraguay in the early hours of Saturday June 13, UK time.
“It’s good because of course, the season that I come off of, I think it’s the best in my career, playing at the level that I was,” Aaronson said. “I’m really just looking forward to being able to hopefully show myself against Germany.
“And if not, go into the training and show what I can, make sure that I can do whatever I can to get on the pitch. And if not, [then] supporting the guys the best I can, always.”
Aaronson is also heading into the World Cup as a newly-married man - a very newly-married man. The Leeds star actually left the USA training camp for his wedding with now-wife Milana, having booked the date two years ago.
A chaotic few days for Brenden Aaronson
The USA were long expected to meet for their World Cup camp on June 1 but it was recently brought forward to May 26, leaving Aaronson’s May 30 wedding right in the middle. He received permission from head coach Mauricio Pochettino to leave the training base and head to New Jersey for the ceremony before heading back at 2.30am that same night.
“For me it was a whirlwind couple of days, but also a really amazing whirlwind of days that I’m never going to ever forget,” Aaronson said. “It was really special.
“We were kind of freaking out because you put so much time and effort into it. I mean, [Milana] put so much time in, let’s be honest, she put so much into doing the wedding, and it was just really scary.
“I told him [Pochettino] I’m completely okay with moving my wedding. I can move it, I’ll do whatever I can to be on this roster. Me and my fiancée were on the same wavelength. Milana gets a lot of credit for that.
“It’s not easy to be leaving on a wedding night. But she’s been with me since the beginning, she knows how many days that we’ve been through doing all the football stuff. For her to be as cool as she is, it’s amazing.”