'Monumental' - Brenden Aaronson's mentor issues verdict on historic Leeds United transfer

Leeds United have sealed the permanent addition of USMNT international Brenden Aaronson on a five-year deal
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Leeds United's summer transfer business has been conducted without delay this year with the Whites wasting no time in confirming their first addition.

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'I was pacing and sweating' - £25m signing Brenden Aaronson reveals nerves over ...

Attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson signed in a £25 million deal from Austrian side FC Red Bull Salzburg and will join up with the squad for pre-season in a month's time when the move is officially ratified on July 1.

ENDORSED: Brenden Aaronson's Leeds United transfer has been celebrated by his former manager (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)ENDORSED: Brenden Aaronson's Leeds United transfer has been celebrated by his former manager (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ENDORSED: Brenden Aaronson's Leeds United transfer has been celebrated by his former manager (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
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The American arrives with a reputation for hard work off the ball, creativity on it and as one of the United States' most revered attacking players.

The 21-year-old arrived in Europe from Philadelphia Union in January 2021 but quickly made a positive impression in continental competition such as the Europa League and Champions League with Salzburg.

In joining Leeds this week, Aaronson becomes the second-most expensive American in history, behind only Chelsea's Christian Pulisic.

Aaronson's former head coach in MLS has expressed his delight at the youngster's move: "Couldn’t be more happy for the Aaronson family, for Brenden, for Jesse [Marsch], for the great work that Salzburg did, obviously for the great deal that Ernst Tanner made for our club,” Philadelphia Union boss Jim Curtin said.

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“A monumental day, not just for the parents and family, but for the Union, for our academy, for the work that goes on there. And obviously the dollars behind it, too, are impressive," he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The MLS club are understood to have received approximately $5 million as part of a sell-on clause inserted into the deal which brought Aaronson to Salzburg in the first place.

“Winning is still priority number one but within that, we want to win games and we want to also sell top players to Europe,” Curtin said.

“And with that, young players are going to look at us and say, ‘We want to come there, we want to be developed, we want to move on when the time is right, play for the national team.’ These are all good things, and I think it paints our club in a positive light.”

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Aaronson is something of a poster-boy for US soccer having made a successful move across the Atlantic, thrived in European competition and subsequently earned a transfer to a Premier League club.

He will join up with his new teammates following a round of international fixtures next month.

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